Final Report for Joint StMistical Agreement 9949

October 1992

Submitted by:

Susan Lobe Principal mgator

IntertribaI Friendship House Oakland, Califomia 94606

Sponsored by:

Center for Survey Methods Research Bureau at the Census

Washington, DC 202334700

FINAL ETHNOGRAPHIC EXPLORATORY RESEARCH ’ *’

REPORT #18 -

AJiiERlCAN lNDlANS IN THE S@‘4 FRANCISCO BAV AREA

AND’ - .

THE 1990 CENSUS

LesIie A Bnmuigg, Tedrnical Repregentathre

'This research was supported by a Joint Statistical Agreement with the Bureau of the Census. The views, opinions, and findings contained in this report are those of the author and should not be conotrued au an official Bureau of the Census position, policy, or decieion, unloes oo deoignated by other official documentation.

Revised t September 1992 Revised: October 1992

DISCLAIMER

Attached is the final report for one of the 29 independent Joint Statistical Agreement projects which conducted an ethnographic evaluation of the behavioral causes of undercount. All 29 studies followed common methodological guidelines.

This report is based in analysis of the results of a match between the author(s)' Alternative Enumeration to data from the 1990 Decennial Census forms for the same site. units.

Each ethnographic site contained about 100 housing Information was compiled from census forms that were recovered through

October 10, 1990.

The data on which this report is based should be considered preliminary for several reasons.

l Between October 10, 1990 and December 31, 1990 additional census forms may have been added to or deleted from the official enumeration of the site as a result of coverage improvement operations;local review.or other late census operations. Differences between October 10, 1990 and final census results as reported on the Unedited Detail File will be incorporated in later analyses of data from this site.

0 The consistency of the author's coding of data has not been fully verified.

0 Hypothesis tests and other analyses are original to the author.

Therefore, the quantitative results contained in this final JSA report may differ from later reports issued by Census Bureau Staff referring to the same site.

Additional copies of this report may be obtained from:

Bureau of the Census Center for Survey Methods Research Washington Plaza Building, Room 433 Washington, DC 20233-4700

AMERICAN INDIANS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA AND THE 1990 CENSUS

Introduction

This is the final report of ethnographic research begun in 1989 focused on the dynamics of the 1990 census process as it unfolded in the American Indian community in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.' The first section describes the research methodology. The second section presents a chronology of the 1990 census process as it affected Indians in the Bay area and covers information on the Tribal Liaison Program, the Complete Count Committee and the work of the Census Community Awareness Specialist. Key issues are then discussed: communication channels into and within the Indian community, the undercount, confidentiality and trust, enumerators and other. Census Bureau employees and problems of interpreting forms. The report closes with recommendations for the Year 2000 census and Indians' conclusions about the 1990 census. Throughout the report, the remarks of various American Indian individuals are quoted and selected primary documents from the 1990 census process are attached to the report.

Methodology

The approach utilized throughout the research has been ethnographic and qualitative. Field techniques included long term, in-depth participant observation and both formal and informal interviews. Much of the background information was qbtained from the Intertribal Friendship House Community History Project archives (see Attachment A). Relevant primary documents were located and gathered, some of which are attached.

Intertribal Friendship House (IFH), which is an American Indian center established in Oakland in 1955, was the institutional base for the research. -Because a major research goal has been to gain and convey an American Indian self-reflection on the 1990 census process, the descriptive-format of this report includes numerous quotes of what Bay Area American Indians said about the census process. Because the research was carried out by IFH, an

' It is intended that this report be read in conjunction with Ethnographic Exploratory Research Report # 12: Oakland's American Indian community: History, social orqanization and factors that contribute to census undercount and with an edited video transcript which also result from the Joint Statistical Agreement project between the U.S. Census Bureau and Intertribal Friendship House.

' The IFH community history project is a community resource archives containing oral histories, photographs, and documents concerning the history of the American Indian community in the Bay Area from the 1940’s to the present. Dr. Susan Lobo, the principal investigator for the current research, has been the coordinator on an ongoing, daily basis for the community history project since its inception in 1978. Her long term work in the Oakland American Indian community has further provided a deep contextual framework for this research.

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understanding of and trust in the research project's goals were widely shared within the American Indian community. This in turn resulted in a strong personal engagement in the research process from many spheres within the American Indian community.

The principal investigator, Susan Lobe; participates daily in observations of the American Indian community and carried out numerous informal interviews regarding the census process from the fall of 1989 through the fall of 1991. These interviews were sometimes short interchanges ranging from topics of specific activities and events to discussions of sentiments or values. Other informal interviews were longer in duration, entering extended discussions that in some respect added the experiences and thinking of many individuals to the ethnographic picture. Formal interviews, that is, interviews with an agenda of predetermined topics conducted in a format that had been mutually agreed upon were carried out in the spring of 1990, the spring of 1991 and the fall of 1991.

In the summer of 1991, Ms. Elaine Dempsey joined the project as research associate. Ms. Dempsey (Wintun/Usal) had served as the Census Bureau's Community Awareness Specialist (CCAS) with the Tribal Liaison Program (TLP) during the 1990 census. She brought to her research capacity the experience and knowledge she gained.in the census work, as well'as her long personal experience as a California Indian woman who actively engages in many tribal and community-based projects at local and state levels. Much of the overall research dynamic during the fall of 1991 reflects the joint collegial interaction between Lobo and Dempsey, including extensive discussions and the sharing of written reports and personal experiences.3

Lobo and Dempsey carried out a series of formal and informal interviews throughout the fall of 1991. The sample for these interviews was selected to include American Indian respondents who had been involved in the 1990 census process in the Oakland American Indian community, in formal capacities at the state, regional Bay Area, or. strictly American Indian community level, as well as those who had been involved with the census principally in responding to the form.

Participant observation was carried out throughout the research period by both researchers in contexts as diverse as Oakland city meetings where the census was under discussion, at pow-wows and other Indian community events where census information tables were present, or at the Wednesday Night dinner at IFH where casual conversation among friends or family members turned to the census.

One phase of research involved organizing a conference entitled "American Indians and the Census: One Year Later" held in the spring of 1991 (see Attachment B). This conference was jointly planned by representatives of IFH, United Indian Nations, Native American Studies at the University of California/ Berkeley, Native American Studies at U.C./ Davis, and the

3 Extensive quotes by Elaine Dempsey are included in this report where she is referred to as "the CCAS".

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California Indian Education Association and others. There was ample . discussion of topics related to the census in order to formulate the conference format and set priorities for the themes to be presented and discussed. The presence of both project researchers as both instrumental participants and observers provided additional data for this report. (The accompanying video provides excerpts from the conference itself.)

Synopsis of Ethnographic Exploratory Research Report # 12

Much of what is presented below is based on the assumption that the reader has already reviewed the complementary information presented in the preliminary report. That preliminary report on Oakland's American Indian community history, social organization and factors suggests how Indian social life and cultural concepts interact with the methods, procedures and techniques utilized by the U.S. Census Bureau to contribute to the outcome of the census. To summarize briefly major points from the preliminary report, the San Francisco Bay Area Indian community is one of the major urban Indian centers in the United States, and:

1. Tribally, the community has very heterogeneous affiliations as a result of immigration to California from throughout the United States.

2. Residentially, the community is scattered, rather than clustered, and there is a high degree of residential mobility.

3. Socially, the structure of the.community is characterized by a network of individuals and organizations within distinct spheres of interest and activity. A number of organizations and other special interest institutions act as nodes within this network of relatedness.

4. The extended family and tribal affiliation play important roles in community dynamics.

5. Although much of the community is characterized economically by low income, there is a developing middle class, and an increasingly diverse range of activities by community members.

6. A multi-generational component is present, including an infant fourth generation. These children are the great-grandchildren of the wave of people who migrated to the area in the 1950’s, many of whom came as a part of the Federal relocation program.

The preliminary report indicates a number of salient factors as having the potential to affect the outcome of the census. The diversity of housing types where urban Indians live was one such factor and many families reported they did not receive a mailed-out census form nor was the place they lived recognized as a residential unit by an enumerator. The dispersion of American Indian residences scattered within more homogeneous 'or diverse neighborhoods makes locating Indians complex. The nature of household composition and residential mobility also presents challenges to 1990 census techniques. A

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series of elements including historically long-standing conflicts between. American Indians and the Federal government, levels of literacy, and values such as definitions of the domains of privacy are also factors affecting the level of participation in the census actively chosen by American Indians. Finally, differing interpretations of terminology found on the census form, as well as crucial questions of racial and ethnic identity by American Indians are elements in the resulting count.

The Video

The 30 minute video was filmed at the spring 1991 conference "American Indians and the census..one year later" held at Intertribal Friendship House, and features portions of presentations by Indian people who were engaged in various aspects of the census process; from thinking about the more abstract causes for miscounts or undercounts, to grappling with practical problems of the census, to applying means of making the results of the census directly applicable to the expressed and immediate needs of American Indian people in the Oakland area. The firsthand insights expressed in the video provide a counterpoint to the description and analysis found in the two written reports.

Chronology of the 1990 Census in the Bay Area American Indian community

Background

A series of events that composed the census process in 1990 gives insights into the ways that the American Indian community responded to the census overall, as well as the ways that the procedures used by the U.S. Census Bureau interacted with the values, social- structure and social dynamics found within the American Indian community.

Throughout most of the 1980’s, the results of the 1980 census played a fairly minor role in daily activities in the Indian community in the Bay Area. This population does not generally rely on statistics to characterize or describe reality. Staff of Indian organizations have been aware that a knowledge of the demographics that define, the American Indian population in the Bay Area may prove to be useful. Much of the motivation for obtaining demographic information derives from external demands: during the process of requesting funds, the need for services to the community and the size of the community must be demonstrated. American Indian community organizations are also aware that demographic information will improve their ability to design and provide appropriate services.

Throughout the 1980’s, although there was a consensus that the 1980 census figures represented an undercount of the American Indian population in the Bay Area, some community organizations continued to utilize these figures in proposal writing and in making projections for future needs within the community. Other organizations utilized estimates based on their particular service population.

The director of Intertribal Friendship House indicated:

"Funders often ask how many people we are serving. What tribes and, what numbers? 'Well, people come in and out our doors all the time.' The funders often ask, 'What tribes?' This is becoming less significant all the time because of intermarriage of tribes. But for us, we can't so easily go -- for example -- to the Navajo tribe and say we have 600 Navajos in the area, and 200 of them are low income. We just don't have the figures."

The Tribal Liaison Program

The Census Community Awareness Specialist (CCAS)

In the interviews carried out for this research, the staff of Indian organizations related that they most commonly began to think seriously about the census after contact with the CCAS as a part of the Tribal Liaison Program (TLP). For example, one of the most active advocates for census participation was the director of the Oakland JTPA program, United Indian Nations (UIN); who first became involved in census activities in the late fall of 1989 following discussions with the northern California CCAS. Prior to contact with the CCAS, this agency administrator had not planned to take part in census activities because she was not aware that census outreach services were critical, significant, or needed. She later became actively involved in the Oakland City Complete Count Committee (CCC), negotiating for an American Indian census outreach position when none had been initially considered by the city.

In hindsight, the CCAS commented about her role:

"Urban community involvement was pretty much handled by enterprising and creative Indian leaders. My job was simply to suggest, challenge, assist (and coerce) as necessary to facilitate census education to the largest Indian audiences in the quickest manner. Indian agencies for manpower, health, seniors, education, social and religious entities stayed committed and helped me to the end."

Some Indian community members indicated they had gained a generalized awareness of the approaching census through the media. However, it was frequently the direct contact with the CCAS that personalized their awareness, indicated to them the special considerations related to the American Indian count, and galvanized their interest in initiating outreach efforts among those associated with their organizations:

“I first learned about the census from the tribal liaison. Nobody from the Census ever visited us, or even sent letters or materials to us. We only got materials from the liaison."

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(President of an Indian educational institution)

"I first thought about the census in listening to a presentation of the Tribal Liaison representative at the BAIAR meeting."

(Social worker)

"Elaine came and gave a talk to us and handed out posters and other information about the census. This is when I fi'rst heard anything."

(Receptionist)

Originally, the program had one American Indian CCAS for the entire state of California. However, when the magnitude of the task became evident, an additional CCAS was added for southern California. This still left the northern California worker with a mandate to cover an extremely large territory of forty-six counties and to maintain contact with many, often scattered tribes, organizations and individuals. The tribal liaison program as formally defined nationally was to focus on contacts with tribes, especially those tribes recognized by the federal government. The northern California CCAS extended the program to include many tribes not recognized by the Federal government and also, urban Indian populations. This initiative on her part, as well as her vitality in carrying it out, created a conduit between the Bay Area Indian community and the local census offices, as well as rural Indian tribes and populations. 'However, the CCAS presence providing census awareness to the Indian community was sometimes interpreted by local census offices as relieving them of the obligation to serve their Indian . constituency in the urban areas.

The CCAS indicates:

"Most district offices expected the Tribal Liaison Program to address all Indian matters, but of course it didn't. This was not its purpose. The Census Bureau also failed to perceive that minority CCAS selected from a particular community possess the loyalty and respect of that respective community. So, it follows, when district managers disregarded a CCAS recommendation, an entire community became angered. The Census Bureau was always under fire from ethnic neighborhoods.... I recall creating my own philosophy....the Tribal Liaison Program is a good program; but my primary responsibility will be to help Indians, not the Census Bureau."

The involvement of this one person, and her extreme effectiveness made her a forceful advocate for the census within the Indian community, far exceeding the strict definition of the role of the CCAS.

At the time the CCAS was hired in October of 1988, she was one of the very few people in the Indian community with a particular interest in the upcoming

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census. Her interest in working for the census derived in part from her long involvement in national American Indian politics and her current position as president of the California Indian Education Association. She was well aware of the impact that statistics, both adequate and poor, have had on Indian people, and she was determined to put her skills and broad knowledge of northern California tribal people toward a count'that was an improvement over the 1980 census. She also had direct personal experience with the frustrations related to small northern California tribes seeking.Federal recognition, and the ways that census figures can aid or defeat these efforts. As a past director of the San Jose Indian Center, she was widely known in the Bay Area Indian community, making her contact with the staff of the Indian organizations comparatively easy.

Because the TLP was formally intended to serve only "tribes", the equally large urban Indian population that looks to Indian "organizations" was not served. The CCAS comments on some of her motivations to expand the program.

"Necessity caused me to combine rural/reservation training and urban. Indian census training, because so little economic development and few job opportunities exist on reservations, Indians are forced to seek jobs in large cities, but they regularly return on weekends, and for celebrations, elections, funerals or sports. Some maintain two residences. To educate the entire extended Indian family to census processes, it was imperative that I 'cover' both communities. Further, the largest .Indian faction in California resides in inner-cities, mostly out-of-state Indians. I knew the census was important to urban Indian programs, and I also knew no Census Bureau program was going to target this population. The Census Bureau never had to tell-me to work hard. It was a self-directing job, but my main concern was to always do my best for the Indians, and they would do their best for me. They did, both urbans and reservations."

The then director of IFH said,

"We in IFH supported the Tribal liaison project. She gave good background on the census and good support materials. She knew of people living off reservations and the ways families are linked to those living at Home (on rural tribal lands). And we had contacts throughout the other urban organizations so we were networking with the organizations about information about the census, to-share ideas."

Another Bay Area Indian organ izationa 1 director commented,

"There was not an overall commitment on the part

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of the Census Bureau to count Indians. Things that the Census Bureau sponsored as 'multi-cultural' did not seem to include Indians. It was like the Tribal Liaison *Program was supposed to take care of everything."

People in the Bay Area Indian community consistently turned to the CCAS as their link to the Census Bureau, rather than to district or regional offices. The person in the CCAS role was known and trusted: she was Indian and she made herself accessible. These characteristics were startlingly absent to any Indian person entering the local census offices or contacting the local non-Indian census workers.

The Northern California Regional Meeting

One of the first official notices of census activity that came to the attention of the Bay Area Indian community was an invitation. to organizational directors to attend a northern California regional meeting held in San Francisco in February 1989, fourteen months before Census Day. Invitations were extended to include federally recognized tribes, non-federally recognized tribes, urban organizations and northern California Indian leadership generally. At this time, incentives within the Bay Area Indian community to attend a meeting regarding the census, Francisco, were not strong.

even a local meeting nearby in San Attendance was primarily by rural tribal members

whose travel costs were reimbursed. The written evaluations of the meeting ranged from excellent to poqr, and included comments such as:

"Some presenters (non-Indians) did not relate information as it pertains to our people. To make it usable or important, Indians need to know how it comes back around."

"AS everyone knows, Indian people are more private and these census questions are overwhelming. But I agree it is very important and coming to this regional Indian meeting really opened my eyes to help get all Indians counted."

"All is all very informative, but perhaps could have been held earlier. I like to think I keep myself fairly well-informed, but a great deal of this information is totally new."

"Thanks for inviting us to become involved in shaping our future."

"We were frustrated because our questions were answered with 'its too late to change the 1990 census. This is the way things are and you will have to live with things the way they are.' '

A theme in the comments was a sense of lack of participation in making the

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heard within the urban Indian community again and agai and summer of 1990.

n throughout the spri'ng decisions that determined the orocess and methods of the census. This was

The following description of the meeting by the CCAS h differing perceptions between Census personnel and Ind of process, the outcome and the intent of the meeting. witness account as follows:

ighlights some of the ian people both in terms The CCAS gives an eye-

"It was the official kick-off of the 1990 Census Bureau's introduction to tribes and tribal groups about being counted. It was helpful, needed and beneficial in that it gave all Indian groups the same information at the same time. The tribal interests and conflicts outweighed those of urban communities, but the session also brought into focus what the census had not done in the past for Indian people, and what they were prepared to do for 1990. The presentations were not lost on urban Indians because they learned what activities.would be happening on their home reservations, and the census message was essentially the same for both places.

Attending: all VIP's from Census Headquarters, State BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) leaders, all California tribal chair persons and urban directors. The day-long program was meant to be the usual minority group meeting, a media coup for the Census Bureau, but the Indian audience turned out to be 'census-literate' and somewhat hostile. The Census Bureau could not fathom so many individual tribes who acted so independently, not to.mention the completely different needs and stances voiced by urban groups. By mid-day, Census VIP's were distraught and BIA VIP's were defensive as some tribes got very vocal prioritizing their problems which, by the way, were not always pertinent to census business at hand.

I was very pleased with it all. There never was any real animosity, just spirited talk!! It actually was a good meeting because everyone had a chance to air their viewpoints in front of the entire group. It was orderly, sort of . . ..equal opportunity Indian style. Afterwards, Indians joined one another and toured the waterfront laughing and having fun."

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Activities of the Tribal Liaison Program's Census Awareness Specialist

In the late spring and summer of 1989, the Tribal Liaison Program was the most active force bringing the upcoming census to the attention-of the Bay Area American Indian community. The TLP primarily made contacts with staff of the organizations and secondarily directly contacted with the broader base of Indian community members. The CCAS distributed information at-pow-wows held in May 1989 at Stanford and at DeAnza College. The Stanford pow-wow is considered a major event in the Bay Area Indian calendar, drawing thousands of local people and dancers and drums from as far away as the plains, the midwest and Canada. Among the craft and food booths are information booths with brochures and fliers regarding the current programs and projects of Bay Area Indian organizations. In 1989, information on the census was available at one such booth: not a high profile, but a presence. In the weeks following the Stanford pow-wow, the census was not a topic of conversation in the Indian community. After all, "Census Day" was still a year away and stronger personal and community-wide priorities occupied people's attention.

Organizations within and serving the Indian community consistently operate under the burden of inadequate funding and staffing to respond to extremely pressing needs of the community. It is generally recognized within the Indian community that its organizations play a fundamental role in maintaining the social, cultural, spiritual, educational and health needs of the community; that is, the institutional fabric of the community. And it is recognized that through the extremely hard work and active participation- in community affairs by the boards, staffs and many volunteers in the organizations that the essential nature of the community is maintained. Consequently, although some organizations such as the clinics or the tutoring programs may focus on one specialty within the community, these organizations are also engaged simultaneously in a broad array of community-wide activities and obligations, contributing to individual and group survival and well-being.

In the spring of 1989, the notion of the coming census was just one more element in the already overburdened organizational agendas. To members of the Indian community maintaining income, finding adequate housing and education for the children, health concerns, multiple responsibilities within extended families with members living in the city as well as "back home" all had higher priority than yet another government program.....the census!

During June and July of 1989, the CCAS made presentations at staff meetings of various Indian organizations, including Intertribal Friendship House, the San Francisco Indian Health Board, United Indian Nations, the San Jose Indian Center, the Alcohol treatment programs in Oakland and San Jose, various education projects in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, as well as to the University of California at Berkeley Native American Studies academic program. The response of these organizations' staff could be generally described as passively interested, yet the census was not a high priority and did not warrant special discussion at that time. Because the CCAS was a known and trusted member of the community, she was viewed as a resource, someone to whom they could turn for further information if needed. It was also assumed that she would act in the best interest of the community in carrying out the role

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of a liaison with the government agency, in this case the Census Bureau, that she would keep the community informed of special concerns or tell them if the need for action arose. Attention turned to the more pressing internal concerns of the particular organizations and the constituent community.

In the research area, a coalition of all Indian organizations meets once a month on a rotating site basis. The Bay Area Indian Agency Representatives, known as "BAIAR"-serves primarily as an sinformation sharing entity; the monthly meetings consist primarily of extended announcements and presentations by invited guests regarding programs and activities of potential interest to - the Indian community (see Attachment C). One organizational director said:

"Locally, the BAIAR representatives through contacts with the CCAS, expressed their interest and concern in obtaining an accurate count of American Indians. The 1980 figures, were of course, obsolete, and considered to be severely low. The obtaining of funding for human services is a critical and ever present goal for organizations. Existing service delivery systems are over-burdened with the level of funding currently available."

As a coalition, Bay Area Indian Agency Representatives has a gate-keeping function in affecting the flow of ideas and information into the community though organizational representatives. On occasion, widespread concerns within the community are aired and discussed at BAIAR meetings. Although BAIAR has no formal powers of sanction for example, the fact of an individual and his or her actions being discussed at a BAIAR meeting does have an impact within the Indian community, and BAIAR's decision to write or withhold a letter of support, likewise has an impact in the workings of the community. The socializing and work that is carried on at the BAIAR meetings creates a sense of alliance that exists among staff of various organizations. This ,-_. sense of alliance is also carefully balanced with the strong need for organizational autonomy.

A characteristic of the Indian community is its structural fluidity: organizations and their staff shift and change over time in response to pressures both external and internal to the community. The CCAS notes:

"The computer(ized) contact lists (provided by the Census Bureau) for urban Indian areas from 1985-1988 were totally outdated. Staff turnovers for urban centers is much more frequent than the census realizes. I was told about an urban census meeting held at the San Francisco Indian Center prior to 1988. But times change. This agency was now financially troubled and closing its doors. Everybody moved on."

The process of falling back into smaller groups, or "camps", and then surging

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together in alliances and coalitions is a dynamic well recognized within the community. At times this dynamic is appreciated for its responsiveness. and survival value. At other times, people despaired about the time and energy this dynamic takes and about the divisiveness it may present when unity is called for.

This organizational fluidity responds to and contributes to the thinking of the community and motivates action within the community. Those who attend the BAIAR meetings -- and the actual attendants are always shifting -- are privy to information and may be administrative staff in the community organizations, yet their power only results from the degree of support the community gives. It is the community as a whole that balances the actions of the leadership, relies on the insights of the elders and reacts to external pressures. It is important to understand the nature of a coalition such as BAIAR, as a part of understanding its role in disseminating information within the Indian community.

Starting in August and continuing through the fall of 1989, the CCAS made presentations at the monthly meetings of the Bay Area Indian Agency Representatives. The presentations, usually lasting about thirty minutes, included various aspects of the census process and included questions and answers. She joked about the boxes and boxes of promotional materials she hauled around with-her and handed out at the meetings. She comments:

"TO the positive, the Tribal Liaison Program materials 'were without contest, the most comprehensive outreach development by the Census Bureau. The five Indian census.campaign posters were punctual, good-looking, and well-received by the American Indian people and other populations across the board. This unique collaboration was an esteem builder for Indians. The materials overall were easily presentable to agency liaisons who ably integrated them into their daily work programs. The Tribal Liaison Program was the saving grace to direct a broad, census involvement for Indian parents, businesses, and the community-at-large who, without it, probably would have skipped the 1990 census by choice."

Response to the Indian-focused materials produced by the Census Bureau was positive overall in the Indian community as expressed by one organizational staff person:

"The census posters and buttons were the best promotional items. In addition to being distributed and hung up at places such as the clinic, they also got up in unconventional places such as bars where Indians congregate. This got Indian people

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used to the Census idea."

The CCAS always stressed that the Tribal Liaison Program was officially designed to serve tribes, and that she personally had also informally extended the work to include the urban organizations as much as possible. She said the organizations would4have to take the initiative to "get the word out" to the community overall.

Eventually, some urban Indian organizations signed agreements to act as Volunteer Questionnaire Assistance Centers. The staff of some organizations felt hesitant to do this however, not understanding clearly what responsibilities might be ultimately asked of them, and knowing full well the extent to which their space, staff time and other resources were already stretched thin. In Oakland these agreements never translated into action however and the functions described were ultimately taken on by the Indian Census Outreach coordinators who worked for the Oakland Complete Count .' Committee.

Complete Count Committee

Parallel with the Tribal Liaison Program, but initiated at the city level, were the Complete Count Committees (CCC). In only two Bay Area cities, Oakland and San Francisco, did these committees involve American Indians. In the fall of 1988, the first Complete Count meetings were organized in Oakland after the Census Bureau contacted the NAACP. No Indian people were present at these first meetings. However, in May of 1989 the director of United Indian Nations (a job training organization in Oakland) attended an employment and job training conference in Wisconsin that included topics on census issues of concern to American Indians nationally. Returning to Oakland, her interest in the census continued, and having had contact with the CCAS, she then brought her organization into the city-wide complete count committee activities by the fall of 1989. During this time the then director of another organization, had the following to say:

"But it is very important in making this count, since once they have these figures, they then use them as if they are some sort of scientific truth and they .do affect the outcome of our program planning and access to funds. The numbers become powerful tools that get used for example for programs for women and for the homeless. That's why it is important the Indians put in their two cents worth. They say they aren't scientific,

4 The American Indian and Alaska Native Census Advisory Committee criticized the Census Bureau for extending the tribal liaison program to state recognized tribes and advocated restricting the program to the federally recognized tribes only. However, there are reports that the excellent 'materials prepared for the tribal liaison program were used in other urban Indian contexts, for example, in Milwaukee, and adapted by outreach specialists for other, non-Indian groups.

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but then afterwards they get used as if they are scientifically arrived at."

Positions of (Census) "Outreach Coordinators" were funded by a city block grant and posts were created for the Black, Asian, and Hispanic communities. Initially, the American Indian community was not included. The director of. UIN commented that "throughout it was an uphill struggle to maintain equal status on the complete count committee since we were always .being so overshadowed by larger, more visible ethnic groups. .Finally through pressure from representatives of BAIAR (see Attachment D) and the director of a broad based Hispanic organization, the Indian community was granted first a half time position from March 20 to May 29th, and then a full time position until the program ended August 17th. These posi-tions were administered by UIN. The position was actually staffed consecutively by three different individuals, each of whom was given a four hour training by the American Indian CCAS.

Were they effective? Each of the outreach coordinators was an active member of the Oakland Indian community, and understood clearly the ways that information is circulated within the community via the organizations and the personal networks of those linked to these organizations. (See attachments E) For this reason and the high level of trust they had with community members, they were good choices for this position. Their activities focused principally on educating.the community regarding the role of the census and motivating participation in the census. They provided information tables at three local Indian organizations: Intertribal Friendship House, United Indian Nations and the Urban Indian Health Center. Because there was only one outreach staff person, the assistance center tables were less effective than they could have been since they were often unattended. (See Attachment F.)

The Outreach Coordinators had information booths at community events such as the Intertribal Friendship House Easter picnic and at the Stanford and Mills College pow-wows which are attended by large numbers of American Indians representing a good-cross-section of the population (see Attachment G). They saw to it that promotional materials such as the posters provided to them by the CCAS, were disseminated and displayed at the community organizations.

For example, a "Community Dinner and Townhouse Meeting" co-sponsored by eight Indian organizations was held at Intertribal Friendship House on March 28th (see Attachment H). This free meal was publicized through the various Indian organizations and well-attended by over two hundred and fifty people, which is a fairly typical number for community dinners. The CCAS spoke after the meal emphasizing the importance of filling out and returning the census forms. Another community dinner was held on July 25th (see Attachment I) during which it was emphasized that this would be the last time to answer the census. Plans to disseminate census information through the Hintil Kuu Ca Child Development Center did not actually occur until later, at the end of July, when "Were YOU counted?" forms were sent home with children. (See the report of Outreach-Coordinator's work, Attachment J.)

Was th is effort worthwhile? As individuals the effect ive, and the administrators of participat having outreach coordinators is a good means of

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outreach coordinators were ing organizations felt that improving the census count.

However, the program overall was criticized within the Indian community . characteristically as "too little and too late". The last outreach coordinator wrote in her report, "The late start, the late contracts and lack of communication between the coordinators and the representative from the Mayor's office was unfortunate." Another community leader said, "Also the census should pay the organizations who help to underwrite the costs of our efforts. As it was this time around the organizations took on this work which meant they were subsidizing the Census Bureau. After all, it is their responsibility, not ours."

-The complete count activities did not actually begin to move from the meetings phase into community-based activity, and the outreach coordinators did not begin to work in the community until mid-March, only two weeks before April 1st. They barely began to function in their positions when census day had come and past, and they then moved into the "were you counted" phase which brought with it new guidelines, activities and goals. The complete count committee was shifted from oversight of the Mayor's office to that of the City Manager's office .in June, procedures.

necessitating reworking relationships and The late start for the outreach and the turnover of outreach

coordinators greatly diminished the overall effectiveness of this program. There was confusion as to job descriptions, as well as the nature of the relationship with the other members of the complete count committee and the Census Bureau staff.

Lines of communication between the outreach workers and the Indian community were intact and functioned well, but the communication with the Census Bureau was poor. The outreach coordinators' contact with census personnel was almost exclusively with the CCAS who was trying valiantly to service the needs of all Indian tribes and organizations throughout northern California. The local census office did not establish a relationship with the Oakland Complete Count American Indian outreach coordinators, nor did they extend assistance to them, in spite of the outreach workers' efforts to do so. Timing was often off, in that materials such as the "Were you counted?" forms arrived late, or instructions for their use were not clear.

In addition, old city-wide conflicts between various ethnic groups and organizations around "turf" re-emerged at the Complete Count Committee meetings, diverting much time and energy away from the census. The American Indian participants in the committee work who historically had not figured in these city-wide struggles for hegemony found this conflict frustrating and time-consuming. There was concern by Indian participants that too much time was spent in "pointing the finger" by other ethnic groups about shortcomings in the process rather than taking into consideration that time to carry out the work was short or aspects of the work were "designed to fail". The program might have functioned more effectively had it been started much sooner, had there been a clearer definition of the each outreach role and the overall goals, and had there been strongly established or pre-existing relationships with the Census Bureau personnel and between the various ethnic representatives who participated in the Complete Count Committee.

Organizational directors at one BAIAR meeting raised serious questions as to why the city of Oakland was forced to be in a position to extend already

15

overextended City funds to carry out a task that is the responsibility of'the Federal government. Organizational staff also complained that census activities related to the complete count committee took staff time, office space, use of equipment and telephones, for which there was no compensation.

One of the positive outcomes of the American Indian participation in the complete count committee was the rare opportunity for the Oakland city government to learn about local American Indians and their organizations through joint participation in meetings and planning sessions. This was one of the few occasions when the American Indian community came to be a participating entity in the city-wide political arena, and the results of this participation may have a greater immediate and more practical local impact than any improvement in the actual census count that may have resulted.

Homeless American Indians and S-Night

The S-Night operation carried out on March 20th and 21st in Oakland did not effectively involve Indian people, either as enumerators, or among those counted, even though there is a sizable number of Indian people who live on the streets of Oakland. The CCAS comments:

"I can only recall the Region (Census Bureau's regional office) trying to recruit Black people for S-Night. An effort to recruit Indians was just an incidental exercise, the same for identifying 'Indian hang-outs' (street locations for the Indian homeless)".

The director of the Urban Indian Child Resource Center felt the Indian homeless either avoided the census, were simply overlooked, or because of illiteracy did not complete the census form handed to them in shelters. An Indian health worker explains:

"At certain times, the people on the streets leave the streets looking for warmer locations and (then) they are hard to find. And Indians with any criminal background would surely avoid census takers for fear of reprisals."

The CCAS indicated that of all the Indian organizations in the Bay Area that in one way or another work with homeless, only one to her knowledge was involved in S-night activities, and then only very peripherally. These organizations had no evidence that the homeless American Indians who live on the streets or at the park near Intertribal Friendship House had been counted in S-Night. In addition, the CCAS indicated that S-night enumerators in the Oakland area were not given sensitivity training on how to differentiate between the races visually, so it is very unlikely that if Indian homeless and other Indians living temporarily on the Bay Area streets were even seen and enumerated by observation that they would be correctly identified as American Indian. They might have been mistaken for Hispanic, Asian, Black or White.

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Census Day and After

What then happened on April lst, 1990? While the activities of the complete count committee, the American Indian organizations, and the Tribal Liaison Program's CCAS can be tracked and observed, it is another task to measure in numbers the impact of their activities on the outcome of the census. The goal here is to bring understanding to what happened, rather than to measure what happened. (Please refer to the Preliminary Ethnographic Report, #12'for a discussion of the many factors affecting the count.) It is possible however - to recognize the much greater census awareness and activity in the Bay Area American Indian community in 1990 as compared to 1980. It is also possible to document the increased involvement in census activities in the American Indian community as April 1st approached. Also there was a consensus within the Indian community that information regarding the census was appropriately reaching the urban Indian community via the Indian leadership of the organizations, from there to the staff of the organizations, and from there widely into the community itself.

In the interviews for this study, there was great variation in discussing.the actual response to the census. Many reported that they received a census form at their home address, filled it out with no problems, and returned it by mail. There were comments such as, "In our family we had the long form. I had no problem to fill it out. It was no big deal."

Many others reported never receiving the form by mail, and never being visited by an enumerator. For those visited by enumerators, the response was generally negative. (See discussion below.) Still many others indicated they had received the form, but could not or did not fill it out, or did not return it:

"This form was too confusing. I looked at it, and it was!"

"It was too complex and nobody at home understood the importance of census participation. They thought it was an invasion of their privacy."

After April lst, as already noted, the activities of the Complete Count Committee outreach coordinators and of the Census Community Awareness Specialist continued through the summer months. In the Oakland Indian community much of activity after Census Day was referred to as the "Were you Counted" campaign (see Attachment K) and there was repeated discussion of confusion regarding schedules, dates and deadlines. The CCAS commented:

"The census phases after April 1st were occurring monthly. (It's Not too late! Were You Counted? Last Resort, etc.) and the Oakland CCC never grasped the delineations or imposed time frames. There was an effect on American Indians. I felt they promoted this program too soon and too heavily and in doing so, circumvented individuals who still had adequate time to fill out their original,

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complete census form, but who then gladly opted for the simpler, easier one-page form."

Discussion

A number of themes consistently emerged during the research indicated by people in the Bay Area American Indian community as particularly pertinent to gaining an understanding of the effectiveness of the 1990 census process. Themes include communication flows, the undercount, confidentiality and trust, enumerators and other Census Bureau employees, and problems in interpreting the census form.

Communication into and within the Indian community through the social service agencies and cultural organizations

How did information regarding the census reach, enter and circulate throughout the urban Indian community? The Indian social service agencies and cultural organizations within the community functionally served as the focal social units in the Indian community's contact with the census and these organizations are the principal nodes in the social network of the urban Indian community. Notably, the census did not have points of contact with the neighborhoods, tribes,.lineages, religious organizations, or extended families.

Indian individuals and families do turn to the social service agencies and cultural organizations for social activities and services. These organizations face outward beyond the Indian community to interact with institutions of the larger local, state, and national society. So people in the Indian community are accustomed to turning to the organizations for assistance, advice and orientation regarding dealings with the world at large. The urban Indian social service and cultural organizations function similarly to the tribal offices and programs in a reservation or rural setting. Therefore, from a perspective centered from within the American Indian community, it is appropriate that these organizations act as intermediaries between the Census Bureau and the community members.

The number of American Indian organizations varies over time, but during the two years of this study ranged between thirty-five and forty. Organizations included the American Indian centers in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose; the American Indian cl,inic with its various departments and sites in both Oakland and San Francisco; the Urban Indian Child Resource Center; the United Indian Nations which focuses on employment and job training; educational organizations, such as the Indian pre-school Hintil Ku Caa; and arts organizations, such as the American Indian Contemporary Arts Gallery. Over time, many of the board, staff, membership or clients of these organizations overlap, so, for example, someone who is a secretary in one of the urban Indian organizations may sit on the board of another and be a client in a third.

The director of UIN in her final report regarding the organization's participation in the Oakland Complete Count committee makes the following insightful comment which is a clear reflection of widely held sentiment within

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the Indian community.

"It is extremely important that, for future census efforts,, the community itself be involved in planning and implementing the count plan and that outreach coordinators be housed at a community organization site. Only an accepted and knowledgeable organization will be able to lend credibility to outreach efforts in the community itself. A community organization has the established contacts and network already in place that facilitates the job of an outreach coordinator. Further, a community based organization, rather than a city government office, ensures that the coordinator may function with the autonomy necessary to efficiently complete the given tasks."

The additional overlay of kinship and tribal affiliation further links the organizations into a community network of multiple relationships. One resulting function of this complex network effect is that communication within the American Indian community, sometimes referred to as the "moccasin telegraph" is rapid ; seemingly, often instantaneous.

In many respects, the American Indian community in the Bay Area is closed or inward looking. In contrast to the rapid spread of information through word of mouth within the American Indian community, the sharing of information drops off rapidly beyond the limits of the community to the surrounding larger community. Thus, information, such as that regarding the census, does not easily penetrate into the community, or enter into the daily flow of informational give and take that is a vital part of the social dynamic within the Indian community. It is the organizations that select and channel what information from external sources enters and circulates through the community. Therefore, it is structurally appropriate that information regarding the census be brought into the community through the various American Indian organizations.

Other factors affect the ways that information reaches the Indian community and is circulated throughout the community. First, because urban Indian communities tend to be invisible to the larger society, the internal social dynamics of these communities are often unknown to city officials and others who facilitate the flow of funding, programs, and information. There are times when this invisibility is desired by Indian people and other circumstances when it is felt to be detrimental. The census-taking process itself is an emotionally charged situation which creates feelings of ambivalence for many Indian people because it raises the choice either of making oneself visible or staying comparatively invisible. Urban Indian "invisibility" is maintained through the interplay of existing stereotypes held by the population in general regarding ethnic communities or neighborhoods and what Indian people themselves look like and by the desire and strategy on the part of Indian people not to call attention to themselves and their community.

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The lack of adequate demographic figures regarding the urban American Indian population further perpetuates the invisibility of the Indian community so that the community as a whole, and often American Indians as individuals, do not exist in the minds of those external to the Indian community. The 1990 census process demonstrated how this invisibility functions. For example, the Oakland Complete Count Committee initially did not include an Indian . component. A reason often cited by the committee was, ironically, that numbers are too low, or -- to quote them-- "the Indian popul.ation is insignificant".

While a number of factors contribute to the comparative invisibility of the American Indian community to those outside the community, three are most prominent: 1. the dispersed residence patterns: urban Indians rarely form neighborhoods; 2. the wide physical variation among American Indians: many individuals' appearance does not coincide with stereotypes regarding what Indian "should" look like and 3. the frequent desire on the part of Indian people to keep a low profile. Old stereotypes of.the vanishing or assimilated Indian die hard or subtly take new forms. Because of the history of interracial conflict, as a personal survival strategy many Indian people maintain a low profile in the presence of non-Indians and do not display their "Indianness" or assert their identity to outsiders. One recent arrival in the Bay Area from Oklahoma commented that he liked living here. When his non-Indian neighbor expressed surprise that the newcomer was Indian and that a large Indian community existed, the man replied: "Indians are everywhere and nowhere! Like it should be. That's why I like it."

The often subtle symbols of Indian identity, for example jewelry or body language, are evident to other Indian people, yet most frequently not perceived by non-Indians. In the same way the buildings that house the Indian organizations are for the most part not overtly "Indian" in their visual presentation. One must look hard in driving by the large nondescript brick building in Oakland to see the sign that says "Friendship House and Gift Shop". This is Intertribal 'Friendship House, the Oakland Indian center in full operation since 1955 and an important nexus in the Bay Area urban Indian community. The large building is nearly obscured by the neighboring stores and restaurants owned by Southeast Asians that have large bright, eye-catching signs and displays. Before the Southeast Asians, the neighbors were Latino, and before that, Black. The neighborhood has changed within the past ten years. Intertribal Friendship House has essentially remained the same; low-keyed and difficult to identify as an American Indian center by those not accustomed to looking for the subtle cues. Those within the "Indian country" communication network are told exactly where the Indian center is located as soon as they come into town; A large sign is not necessary.

Within the Indian community, organizations took various initiatives in promoting and making information regarding the census available to their staff and members or clients. For example, in the Indian clinics and dental offices in San Francisco and Oakland census posters were displayed prominently and census material was distributed to all employees to pass along to their families and friends. The clinic also purposely made census materials available to the public by leaving them on reading tables in patient waiting rooms. At the Urban Indian Child Resource center reminders to participate in

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the Census were inserted in .paycheck envelopes. The Bay Area Native Americ.an Ministry, a Lutheran based, Indian staffed organization included some of the census graphics in a newsletter (see Attachment L) sent out monthly to approximately sixty households. The Indian-focused posters were channeled into the Indian community by the CCAS who handed them out at the BAIAR coalition meetings or directly to individual organizations. They were displayed in many public areas of these organizations: in the clinic waiting rooms, in the living-dining room of the Indian centers, in the reception area of the office of Indian education and the hallway leading to the youth empowerment program. In the fall of 1991, a year and a half after the census, these attractive posters were still occasionally seen in organizational offices, as well as in Indian homes.

Undercount

Although no one knew for sure the extent of the undercount, there is a generalized and strongly held agreement by the Indian leadership that the 1970 and 1980 census u.ndercounted Indian people in the Bay Area. An independent study on the educational and employment profile of the Bay Area American Indian community was carried out by the Robert Wood Foundation and United Indian Nations in 1986. That study reported that only 62% of the respondents had been counted on the 1980 census. Valid or not, this figure is one that is frequently mentioned within .the American Indian community. The director of UIN indicates in a report to the city of Oakland:

"One result was the realization that the American Indian population.was undercounted and invisible to government providers of human services and to the general public. It was difficult to assess population characteristics and trends of the Indian population because of the lack of consistent information."

The director of another Indian organization commented:

“I would be very apprehensive to use the (1980 and 1990) census figures, but they could give some feeling. But I wouldn't rely on them for making changes in our programs."

The third American Indian outreach coordinator working with the complete count committee included a discussion of the reasons for an undercount of American Indians in the Bay Area. She concludes:

"The methods used by the Census Bureau are not adequate for counting populations that have unique residence patterns and a culturally and economically motivated mobility rate. The existing Census methods would seem to work best with people who live in contiguous blocks and who live there for long lengths of time."

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A staff person at one of the Indian organizations who works with a wide range on Indian clients concluded that:

"The Indian population count probably suffered- losses because of the migrating Indian families in this city, too many moving from place to place during census time. And non-Indian enumerators do not know where to find Indian houses in both urban and rural areas. Particularly, homeless Indian hang-outs would be unknown to non-Indians."

The director of an Indian educational institution said,

"I'm not sure the Census Bureau understands the complexities of Indian cultures. And in California we have to deal with two sets of Indian populations, the urban and the rural. There are the functionally illiterate, those afraid of any federal government agent, those who have checkered records with the law, those with no permanent home, and the list goes on.

Some drastic changes have to happen in order to have a statistically significant return or there will be an undercount of Indians forever. I am not convinced the Bureau really wants this data on Indians, or they would be making some substantial changes in the questionnaire and the census taking-techniques,"

Throughout the 1980's, many of the urban organizations accord that a "ball park" estimate of the American Ind greater Bay Area was approximately 40,000, rather than figure. This estimate was the figure most consistently in proposal writing and other reportage throughout the

came to an informal ian population in the rely on the 1980 census used by organizations 1980’s. It was based

in part on intuitive estimat.es derived from district-level studies, or based on attendance at local events such as pow-wows.

What recourse to criticisms to the census were exercised? The CCAS commented regarding the possibility of an undercount:

"Indians subscribe to a lot of theories about causes for an Indian undercount, and every single person I talked to believed that Indians were undercounted. But to my knowledge, only one or two have been angry or motivated enough to take their concerns and suggestions for change to the Director of the Census Bureau, to the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, to the Census Bureau Indian Advisory or any elected official."

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Regarding this an American Indian educator said:

"Indians have complaints about the census taking processes, but they did not know there was an Indian Advisory Board that could hear their suggestions. Most Indians did not know about the Board. They had no visibility throughout the census."

Some Indian people conceive the census as a.inappropriate probe from the - outside world to expose one's private life; to others the census is an opportunity to obtain much needed demographic information that will be helpful in securing services that are direly need by the American Indian community. The two poles are represented by those who choose to resist and those who accommodate. In the middle are those who have not thought about the census. A typical response was made during the interview of a woman who lives with her two children in an apartment. She had not received a census form to her address, nor had a census worker come to her door, or called her on the phone. She commented:

"I am forty-one years old, and I have never filled out a census form. I probably heard about it during 1990, but I just didn't pay any attention. I didn't think it had anything to do with me."

Some Indian people did not participate in the census, not for reasons necessarily based on resistance to the census but rather because of a lack of strong motivation to do so or because other stronger priorities existed. For example, one young man indicated that he first noticed the census Indian posters on the wall of a meeting room. He also saw the census buttons at the same time. When he asked where they came from, he was told someone had brought them from the Census Bureau. At the time, he recounts, he never gave it any more attention. “I just thought it was to just count people, not me or Indians, but everyone else."

Another woman who did not answer the census expressed a common sentiment:

“I did know the census was important. But I was going through a personal ordeal and I just forgot about the census. My problems were more important.... a place to live and a job was more important at the time. But I will probably be griping about not being counted for the next ten years!"

There are numerous fears that the format of census-taking elicits for many Indian people. An Indian minister characterized one such fear this way:

"Federal forms 'used to have a statement to the effect that 'failure to fill this out completely and with honest fact could result in fines or jail', and many people remember

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this and believe it. Our people tend to believe this because of our experience with the Federal government. We have been taken advantage of over time for so long. So this makes people fear these forms; fear that theq will fill them out 'wrong' and get into trouble, or that the information will in some way in the future be used against them. This has been our experience with the Federal government. This is historic fact. For example, with the question about marriage or living together. There is the question in people's minds whether common law or ‘Indian marriage' makes it a marriage for the census and they might fill out the form 'wrong', or that the questions themselves lack so much in perceiving what is actually the situation that there is no way to fill them out 'right' ".

For those living on the streets there are a special set of considerations when confronted with the census. An administrator of one of the Bay Area Indian clinics expressed it this way: .

"Also, special considerations need to be taken to enumerate the homeless people. I am sure they are avoiding the census takers out of fear. Fear that something will happen to them by the government; fear of being exposed or forced to do something they don't want to; a fear and distrust of anyone asking a lot of personal questions. When you're living on the streets, just giving out your name may mean reprisals."

In addition to those reasons for not participating in the census based on values, or fears, there are others. For example, a social worker said:

"And there are many people in the community who do not want to respond because the census says 'and you will fill the census out! You must fill it out!' They will avoid it. And this is the same of other authority figures such as the police, social workers, doctors: a defiance of authority. The last thing they will do is fill it out."

Others in.the Bay Area Indian community who have insights or experience regarding the uses and misuses of statistics fear that poor statistics, that is methodologies that lead to an undercount, or the manipulation of these results, may create more problems than the absolute lack of information on the Indian community. For example, the CCAS comments:

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"What is the rationale in situations where more than one race is reported and the individual either refuses to specify or claims both to 'which race do you consider yourself to be?' The enumerator is instructed to fill in the circle for the race of that person's mother. This is a completely erroneous assumption for a patrilineal tribal group. Yet, if the person does not identify a single response to 'What is your mother's race?', then the enumerator will fill in the circle for the first racial group of the two reported. This could of course, if widespread, conceivably skew the tribe's total population count for either the mother or father, or a lot of Indians could end up being counted as White."

Most administrators in the urban Indian organizations who are accustomed to building a case for need in proposal writing, understand the connection between accurate statistical data and funding allocations. It is feared that the use of data derived from the census may be useless, or in distorting reality may actually undermine, or be used to undermine the Indian community's ability to demonstrate the clearly known need for services and programs. The phrase "statistical genocide" was coined regarding the census, and from time to time was used in the Indian community during the spring and summer of 1990. This fear acknowledged not only potential problems in the taking of the census, but also the coding of these data, and their subsequent use. This phrase characterizes the census not as a benign inquiry with positive intent, but with the violence associated with the loss of land, religious freedoms, and military encounters. These are strong sentiments that go deeply into a sense of shared history of injustice. For some American Indians the census taps into these sentiments and provides a strong impediment to participation.

Respondents repeatedly pointed out throughout the research, that it is important not to blame the victims of the poor results of a census. Rather, it is the mandate of the U.S. Census Bureau to sufficiently understand the structuring, dynamics, and values of a particular population in order to create and implement a methodology that is appropriate to the population, that adequately counts that population, and that is indeed, as intended beneficial to that population.

Confidentiality and the role of trust

As already discussed, the issue of confidentiality is a major one to American Indians in regards to the census. Indians in the Bay Area raised the question again 'How confidential is the census really?' What are some of the dimensions of this question? The degree of trust or its lack, is based on a long history of poor relations and deception between the U.S. government and American Indian people. Many respondents during the study expressed fears that the census figures would be used in ways that would be detrimental to Indians as a group, or used as negative retaliation to individuals. One woman, a receptionist in one of the key Indian organizations and an active

25

member of the community said:

"I don't think all Indians got counted. It helped a great deal to have the Tribal Liaison come to the office and tell about the census, an Indian in the community was actually in contact with Indian people; an Indian person we could actually see working in the Census Bureau and walking around to get Indians counted. It gave us more confidence because we were suspicious that it was just another government agency trying to collect more information on us."

The administrators of Indian organizations tended to express comments such as the following:

"Unfortunately, most Indians still believe that their participation in the census is not going to make any difference. Indian have an attitude--they don't want the government to know where they live . or what they do. They need to learn how important the census data is to them and Indian programs."

Those less involved directly in organizational concerns or less aware of the link between numbers and potential funding, expressed an array of fears that inhibited answering the census. One community member who works as a counselor said:

"The question of getting the numbers up and a complete count seems positive, yet it could be manipulated all the way down the line to once again not treat Indian people fairly. In fact, those numbers might be used to validate not treating Indian people fairly once again in areas like housing and jobs. I think there would be a better count if we were sure it would be advantageous, but we can see that the dominant society could use these figures against us, and that makes us insecure."

Another sentiment was "It may be better for them not to know how many Indian people there are. There is always the potential for backlash against Indian people."

These reactions are defined differently in diverse situations; yet the census process is one that is potentially highly charged within the urban Indian community, drawing forth the fears, the sentiments, and the desires for resolution that both reflect the tortuous and conflict-filled history of

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relations between American Indians and the Federal and state governments or non-Indians in general, and the efforts for personal safety and the creating of a urban community that fulfills personal needs.

There is an equally strong sentiment in the Bay Area Indian community that census taking and the 1990 census in particular is an invasion of privacy, and that claims of confidentiality cannot be trusted. A typical comment is

"AS Indian people we have had so many experiences with the Federal government, that we don't believe, don't trust that this information is going to be confidential."

Another community member says:

"Confidentiality will always be a problem with Indians. They don't like to give out personal information to anyone and they don't trust just anyone knowing their personal business."

An active grandmother in the Oakland community responds regarding the census,

"Its a waste of my time. That's how I feel about it. That's how a lot of Indian people feel about it. They don't count us. You could fill out all the papers you want to fill out. Where's it going to go, into the garbage? We don't see no results. Our people have never seen results from the Federal government. So there is distrust, and it is well-warranted distrust."

When asked why she would not answer the census, she replied:

"Why? Do you know American Indian history? They would like to abrogate all the treaties and just do away with us and pretend like we never even existed. There's people that don't even know there're Indians to this day. And that's the way the government wants it to be."

The director of one of the Indian organizations that had taken an active role in census outreach said:

"The Census Bureau did not 'sell' the confidentiality factor to Indians. We are still suspicious.'

The director of another program expressed his ambivalence regarding the confidentiality of census procedures:

"I am not comfortable with it. But we don't

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say this much since we are trying to get the community to answer the census. The question of confidentiality is still a question in our community. Even for those who don't have anything to hide, there is still that feeling: It is a bigger .question to some individuals . than to others."

At the Indian health center, the director made the comment,

"Even we have difficulty (with primarily Indian staff) taking simple surveys, because people worry about confidentiality. Doubled-up households and extended families, low-income families, people with outstanding warrants; no one in these situations will volunteer any information."

Another member of the community adds:

"Say there are grandchildren living in the home who are supposed (through a court order) to be in custody some place else. So the grandparents don't want to say they are there. Or there are many people who have outstanding warrants and they don't want to fill out the forms since they are afraid the information may get into the hands of the police.".

Some of the basis for lack of trust derives not from old history, but directly from experiences with the 1990 census itself. The CCAS recounted:

"The Indians never faltered in meeting census challenges. It was the Census Bureau's failure to adhere to its own written policies and agreements with tribal governments that has caused problems, discrepancies, mis-counts, animosities, and distrusts beginning in 1990. I believed the Census Bureau, and the Indians believed me when I talked about census confidentiality, census job opportunities and census equal sharing. Yet, from January 1990 onward, I would spend the next six months trying not to compromise the trust of the Indians while battling district offices in the state to simply do what was promised years before."

Enumerators and other census employees

There was strong agreement during the interviews that non-Indian enumerators would have or had a difficult time accurately acc,omplishing their work among the urban Indian population.' The problems of ethnic distancing, mistrust and barriers of communication and sensitivity were accentuated due to expectations

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that were not met regarding the hiring of Indian people as census workers. One Indian man said:

"The Census should hire and train more Indians to work on the census. Indian workers should be visible during that time. We saw lots of minority people, but no Indians.”

A staff person in an Indian youth program said,

"The Census Bureau must hire more Indian enumerators and give Indians management positions if they ever expect to get a good Indian count. We need to see Indians."

The word did not get out sufficiently to the Indian community that enumerators were being hired, and only one Indian enumerator is known through this study to have worked in the Bay Area; this one worked in San Francisco among the homeless population.

The CCAS working with rural tribes in northern California reported the following:

"Indians tested and trained to be enumerators, but were not noticed to hire until late May. By this time, the only work available was for l-2 weeks. It was a disappointing and frustrating time for Indian people. Tribes reminded me that they had been told for four years, that the Census would be offering jobs and that they could enumerate their own areas. I could never ascertain the exact number of Indians hired by the Census Bureau's District offices throughout northern counties, but it was minimal.

For four years the Census Bureau told reservations that they would participate as census planners, promoters, consultants, communication conduits, but especially, be recipients of temporary field jobs. Indians planned, promoted, consulted, and communicated as good census supporters, but they never got their return of promised jobs. The range of Indian complaints run the gamut, but primarily, the lack of job opportunities was the number one lamentation. If this unfulfilled census promise could have been rectified, perhaps all other problems may have been appeased."

Likewise in Oakland promises of employment as census workers was delayed and ended in frustration. The CCAS indicates:

"Unfortunately, the urban census hiring story

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was similar to the rural areas, maybe worse for Indians because their concerns in large, metropolitan areas take a back seat to the Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. In cities, the focus is on the larger, visible and concentrated populations. The Oakland district office serving the greater downtown area was fraught with managerial problems from it's opening. It was not until after the former CCAS was placed in the manager position that American Indians even got a second thought. I was finally told there were no American Indians on the hiring file. I was always asking District Offices if they needed my help in locating potential applicants, and the retort always was that they had no way of identifying Indian applicants."

United Indian Nations (UIN) the American Indian JTPA agency, facilitated the applications of thirteen American Indians who sought employment as enumerators. After many delays, they took the test on April 16th 1990. Eleven passed, but ultimately none were hired by the Census Bureau. Inquiries by the CCAS and others in the Bay Area and throughout northern California were met with responses of "too busy", "couldn't find Indians", "we'll get to them", "no Indians had applied", "no Indians could pass the application test", "Indians couldn't pass the FBI screening" and so forth. Many in the Indian community felt deceived and badly used. The CCAS commented:

"My continual espousing of what the Census promised was increasingly being met with hostility and remarks of blatant racism from White recruiters. Finally, I submitted written complaints detailing problems on Indian reservations to the Regional Director. This helped in a case-by-case basis, but by then, it was too late to regain earlier census enthusiasm or to bring back Indians who deserted the program in disgust."

This experience of unmet employment expectations within a community, with many who are desperate for income, further led to mistrust of the intentions of the Census Bureau and colored responses to non-Indian enumerators who subsequently knocked at doors. One organizational staff person summed it up, "Without hiring Indian enumerators, and once a census visit was scheduled at an Indian household, it was just easier for them to say, ‘I already sent it in', rather than have a stranger come into the home and ask personal questions."

What then were the experiences when non-Indian enumerators came to Indian homes? Commonly in every day circumstances Indian people are frequently misidentified by non-Indians as Hispanic, Filipino or White. Jokes tinged with bitterness abound told by Indians regarding misidentification. This

30

confusion of identification was carried over to the census. One Navajo woman who has lived in the Oakland area for eighteen years commented:

"We're kind of hidden. You can't always locate or recognize Indians right away. I think only Indians can recognize who Indians are. Only Indians are looking for other Indians. Only Indians can immediately consider whether they are talking to another Indian person. For everybody else, 'Indian' would be the last ethnic group to come to an enumerator's mind."

Another respondent commented that she doubted that her family was counted since she did not fill out a form, was never contacted by an enumerator, and because "my neighbors would not give out any information on me because I don't know them at all and they don't know me."

Others told of having avoided a non-Indian census taker:

"I know my boyfriend didn't get-counted either. Once, way later, someone did come to our door in the evening asking census questions and my boyfriend got all panicky. He kept asking the census enumerator, 'Why do you want to know who lives here, and our race?' The census guy couldn't explain why the questions were necessary. We sort of got afraid that somebody was checking up on us or something. We didn't answer anything. I just shut the door."

Another woman said, "Around this city there is a crime factor to consider. A non-Indian coming to your house to ask questions is a scary notion."

The CCAS in reference to rural Indian households in northern California reported a similar situation:

"Non-Indian enumerators were not altogether welcomed. Indian families were not cooperative with outsiders in their areas. They would not answer doors, would not give out correct addresses. Some non-Indian enumerators were insulting to Indian families on reservations and unfortunately, took this hostility house-to-house."

In other instances, an enumerator unfamiliar with extended family household arrangements or patterns of high residential mobility and extended "visits" would miss the opportunity to count some household members. As one woman recounted her experience:

"I was aware of the 1990 census because of the

31

Indian Center, but I was living with another family on April 1st. I was home when a White man came to interview the family I was living with. I did ask at this time about being counted, but the enumerator said I couldn't be included. He said I should get my own form, and he gave me a telephone number to call and make an appointment or call to ask to have one sent to me. I never did it. After this, I didn't hear any more about the census. I just figured I missed it."

Ironically, this same woman greatly appreciated the promotional materials:

"I saw the Indian posters and buttons. I still have the posters. I passed out the buttons at pow-wows even, but I guess I still didn't connect with the importance of actually doing the census form and getting myself counted. I didn't have a regular home and I was moving around a lot."

Another missed encounter with the census enumerator was retold by a young man who, at that time was living at his mother's home. The family knew it was a census worker ("We peeked out and saw that he had a census brief case") but never answered the door:

“It was a White man. He left then, but came back, twice later. Nobody ever answered the door. I guess they probably just gave up. We knew he wanted to ask us questions, but we were suspicious. I just didn't know what they (the Government) were going to do with it. There're always so many studies on Indians."

Throughout the census process the following comment was echoed again and again:

"The Census needs to hire more Indians. Indians will always be uncomfortable giving out personal information to non-Indians."

"Others (non-Indians) don't understand the community, and it just takes too long to educate them. Indians can be a difficult population to work with if one is not familiar with the cultures."

An Indian community member summed up his experience:

"There is a need to hire Indians. Indian people would feel more comfortable telling this personal information to Indians. See, some Indian people won't even answer the

32

door to non-Indian strangers. If you want information from Indians, hire Indians." .

“It takes Indians to count Indians."

An0the.r twist to this theme was added by a woman who said:

"Often Indians will not answer to Black or Mexican census takers since in the mid-west the BIA and other agencies had Blacks as the‘ bad news messengers. It was the Whites who brought us the good news. So when we see the Blacks comi,ng, some of us still avoid them."

Problems of interpreting the census forms

Another area of concern reported in the American Indian community were problems associated with interpreting the questions or format of the census form itself, especially regarding definitions of race, household and family, as well as areas associated with employment and housing. Overall, there were often comments that the form itself was confusing, or as the staff person at one organizations said, people.

"The language is too sophisticated for many of our Like when ttie form says, 'if yes, then go to page xyz.' "

For an extended discussion of some of the unique complexities of identity that American Indian people face, Report #12 (:33-40).

see Lobo's Ethnographic Exploratory Research Understanding the complexity of defining American

Indian racial identity, and the ways that particular situations that provide the context for a self-definition of race and ethnicity for American Indians, one can better assess comments such as the following by Indian people in the Oakland urban area:

"For instance, if an individual's tribal affiliation includes two tribes, then both tribes should be counted. Both are equally important to the individual, not just the first tribe indicated on the answer space."

“I believe that the whole of California has many Indians, but often their feelings about themselves does not allow them to self-identify as Indian. For example if he has brown hair and blue-eyes and people might say, 'No Indian looks like that'. So just to avoid hassles, he might mark down 'White' even though this person might be Indian and may have two parents who are Indian."

"There really is a lack of consistency in every level in the way Indian people are counted, but especially in the question of who is Indian, and how the count is carried out."

33

The CCAS indicates:

"Persons of American Indian descent are used to being asked to 'identify their tribes on various types of Federal forms, but they are not used-to applying. a 'casual attitude' towards this idehtification.

Indians in 95% of instances, were likening this answer to their tribal relationship as regards the Bureau of Indian Affairs, such as federally recognized or non-recognized status, list enrolled tribes, or blood quantum. If the race question is simply a self-declaration identification, then why do the instructions use the wording of 'enrolled'? The only 'enrolled' identification is found under the auspices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and this designation disfavors the non-federally recognized tribal groups. Some non-federally recognized California Indians read more into this question politically than necessary, and felt that by responding, they would just be helping the Federal government help federally-recognized Indians, while the Federal government is doing nothing for them."

Likewise there are various definitions of family and household in tribal cultures in which extended families play a large role. There is often confusion in reaching a consistent definition of terms such as "family" and "household" that can be used to answer the questions asked on the census form. The CCAS presentations to organizational staff and members often included comments regarding the "head of household" concept. She stressed that for certain purposes a household would be statistically deemed Indian or non-Indian based on the designated race of the first person listed in each household. This bit of "inside" information spread quickly, though not consistently, throughout the Oakland Indian community, was discussed frequently, and was acted on by many who did answer the census. The following comment by an Indian community member is typical of the understanding of how the census 'works', and some of the implications for American Indians:

"Lots of Indians are married to Caucasians, so we probably got undercounted there too, because not everyone knew how to fill out the questionnaire so the Indian family member is listed first. The census computer should count every person in a family, so Indians don't get counted as White households."

In thinking about her experiences, the CCAS had the following to say:

"Indians quickly grasped the concept that in mixed marriages to not list the Indian spouse as the head of household so their household would

34

be tabulated as other than American Indian, and Indians would lose monies slated for Tribal Housing and Tribal Utility Programs. The problem was not 'what to do' or 'how to fill in the questionnaire', but WHY do Indians have to do this? Nobody said they would NOT fill in the questionnaire to favor Indians, but some Indian wives expressed concerns like

-My husband IS the head of household and would want to be so designated.

-In order to do this, I will have to grab the questionnaire and fill it out myself.

-It shouldn't matter to us; we will never live on a reservation.

-My husband hasn't worked in a long time. This will be demeaning.

-Why do Indians always have some special way to do everything?,

When White husbands were present, usually they were quiet, but I often heard later that some did not like the insinuation that they were not the head of household, or that their household was an 'Indian household' when they paid the bills. Overall, I believe the Indian married families cooperated with no problems. It was the interracial marriages (with in-marrying men) who hesitated and felt put upon."

Indian women married to Chicano men faced somewhat different, and frequently even stronger deterrents to designating themselves as head of household. There was also concern regarding the children of Indian/Mexican marriages, and how these children may have been counted, as well as the many "Hispanics" who are biologically Indian.

Additionally there were problems in interpreting questions regarding employment and unemployment within a community in which many people are habitually marginally or sporadically employed, or who piece together income from a variety of sources. The director of UIN, the American Indian JTPA program commented:

"A lot of Indian people still do not clearly understand certain census questions. For instance, the definition of 'unemployment'. It's not real! 6.1%? In reality it is much greater than that."

The CCAS reflecting on her experience working with Indian people throughout northern California adds:

"The long form questions on employment seemed

35

the most difficult for Indians to understand. and/or fit to their particular circumstance. Most Indian program directors believe the 'work' questions were improperly filled out by Indians more than any other area, thus complaining that this data simply does not portray the real Indian picture. The Indian unemployment profile is much worse than the information reflects. Most reservations have been poverty-stricken since inception. They are isolated; there is no economic development, and there is chronic unemployment due to no opportunities. In every instance in census presentations to Indian groups, this area was the biggest stumbling block. It took extra time to explain the entire section."

Conclusions and suqqestions for the census in the year 2000

Overall American Indians in the Oakland area believe that although there was an increased awareness of the census in 1990 in comparison to 1980, there were still considerable problems with the census methodology as a means to achieve an accurate count that will be useful and beneficial for the Indian community. Additional concerns expressed within'the American Indian community regarding aspects of the census process which affect the ultimate figures and their use, but which are beyond the scope of the current report, include:

The creation of the census instrument Overall format Especially questions related to identifying race and ethnicity

Hiring of census personnel Career personnel in Washington D.C. Regional liaison staff and census takers

Coding census forms, and manipulation of statistics How are counts and other indicators interpreted in Washington?

Accessibility of census figures for American Indian needs. How are they used and by whom?

The general recommendations coming from the Bay Area American Indian community for a successful census in the year 2000 stressed

1. expand the Tribal Liaison Program to include an urban component,

2. create more straight forward, unambiguous census forms,

3. start census outreach earlier, and

4. make funds available to urban American Indian organizations to carry out their outreach functions.

Since the goal of this research, as well as the approach of this report has been to document American Indian experiences, views, and perceptions regarding

36

the 1990 census process, it is appropriate to conclude with a series of quotations that summarize Indian thinking regarding the 1990 census.

On the Tribal Liaison Program, the CCAS commented:

"Urban Indian agencies were as cooperative as reservations. They participated in all census awareness and products promotional phases. They held community dinners and social events to promote the 1990 census. They attended all TLP training meetings. The commitment of Indian network programs was tantamount to the Census Bureau securing an improved 1990 count for American Indians residing in cities. They were responsible for the Indian promotional materials being posted in schools, libraries, and 'at unconventional Indian meeting places. They used their own mailing lists for census mailings and newsletters."

"A section of the TLP should be planned for urban Indian communities, agencies and organizations. I worked with over a hundred such agencies using the TLP materials which were suitable and/or easily adaptable. They got involved with census programs in cities; they already had consortiums, so the CCAS acted as an information and materials conduit, and they did the rest. Urban Indian leaders did an excellent job for the census and the American Indians."

"Indian people suffered needless discrimination in services because District Office staffs were insensitive and ignorant of the Indian cultures around them. INDIANS DESERVE EQUAL TREATMENT OF SERVICES. They must not be discriminated against because of the TLP (Tribal Liaison Program). They must have equal access to district services, to

1 district personnel when they need he receive all non-TLP training offered other populations."

p, and to to all

"Census staffing at all levels should sensitivity training by the Tribal L i

be given aison Program,

and be made knowledgeable of regional tribes and Indian organizations."

Staff of American Indian agencies which volunteered their participation in the census process commented:

"I was not satisfied carried out because in the decision-maki

with the way the Census was Indians had no participation ng processes. Indians could

37

only try to follow a course already set down by the Census Bureau, and at times it was so confusing. Consequently, I feel that Indian people still perceive the census 'as not being important'; that they have too many other things to do."

(Director of United Indian Nations)

"Too often when we wanted to improve the census, the response was, 'Don't confuse us with the truth. We have too much momentum going."'

(Director of American Indian Ministries)

"The American Indian Advisory Committee must take up the issue of the race question. American Indians should not have to select one tribe, be it principal or enrollment tribe. The 1990 race question does not give an accurate picture of Indian tribes by the specificity of the question. There needs to be Indian involvement in extensive advise gathering, case studies, public consultations and testing in the next few years for intelligent modification."

(President of D-Q University)

On funding for outreach and promotion activities, the CCAS commented:

"Tribes and urban organizations are having to provide too many freebies. Space, telephone, xeroxing, travel expense, staff times etc. from already stretched budgets. Monies should be allocated from the Census budget to assist and reimburse."

On hiring American Indians, the CCAS stated:

"The Census Bure.au should maintain a core group of Indian personnel just to work with the Native American population to insure a continuous, pertinent data flow and work to diminish the Native American undercount."

"There were only two district offices responsible for some 44 tribal groups! This ratio was unworkable. I recommend a regional Indian recruiter who would work only with Indian tribes/groups, be responsible for advise and in-servicing district office staff to keep them abreast of all new developments or situations unique to Indian areas regarding enumeration. A regional Indian recruiter would be responsible to mobilize an applicant pool far in advance of need, be responsible for tribal job publicity, testing and training and working closely with the District Office throughout."

38

Selected comments on education for the census included:

"I believe Indian educators should be asked to assist the Census Bureau to put together a census education framework that stresses relativity to Indian cultures and American historical facts. It would be an invaluable resource to tedch young Indian parents and their youngsters about the importance of participating.in the census process as a family unit, and it could be developed and written to be culturally acceptable by tribes. Indians would use it for sure."

(The CCAS)

On timing:

"There needs to be earlier education for Indians in order that they can understand the importance of participating in the census. The Census timing was just one phase falling on the other. It got confusing as to what to actually be doing and when. It was too hectic near the deadline time."

(A social worker)

"Information needs to be getting out into Indian communities sooner. But it needs to be orderly. In February 1990 the Census was sending out conflicting information regarding certain census phases. Information releases were constantly changing about the census forms. It wasn't clear what was appropriate and what wasn't."

(The Director of United Indian Nations)

On promotion:

“I suggest using recognizable Indian leaders to make live television and radio messages, not just for Indians, but census messages aimed at all people. Then see that they get aired on mainstream public outlets. It does little good to make Indian radio and television spots to be aired through Indian media outlets because there are too few."

(An educator)

"The graphics were good. They were on target!" (A participant in the Youth Empowerment Program).

39

AT

TX

CH

XE

ST

A-1

l -

c3 --

The Community History Project which started in 1978

as an oral history project has since grown

to include the following:

The Community Resource Archives and Museum The archives, fotusmg on the history of the Amerlton Indian

community In the greater Bay Area Includes:

loped ond tronscubed oral histories

Photographic collectlou

Documents toIectlon

Newschpptng file

Audio and video tapes

Poster and graphics tollection

As o community resource orchives, these moteriots are accessible

within the Ameuton lndion community, as well OS to scholars ond

the public ot lorge. Coil for oppointment.

Research Unit Through the community history prolect, applied research is corried out

focusing on topics of direct benefit to the Ameticon lndion community.

Recent projects include:

. Ameriton lndion undercount:

evoluotion of 1990 census

l Reclaiming Our History:

orchivol seorth, inventory, and conference

l Pride of Place:

A book on the Bay Aleo Ameriton lndion community.

(University of Arizona Press)

x A

TT

AC

HM

EN

T

B-1

Y

VI

5 'S

: : L h

---- --

- -

-

8:30

IO:00

LOS-12:30

10:15-lo:45

l&45-ll:15

11:15-11:45

11:45-12:15

12:30-I:30

AGENDA *

Keg&ration and Coffee

Welcome - Jim Lamenti, Executive Director, Intertribal Friendship House

Invocadon

Panel on Census Topics - Moderator - Eileen Luna, Board Chair, Intertribal Friendship House

l * Elaine Dempsey, 1990 Indian Census liaison ‘Was the Tribal Liaison Program a Success?”

*+ Sally Gallegos, Director, United Indian Nations “Community Outreach, City Census”

**Jack Forbes, Ph.D., Director, Native American Studies, University of California, Davis “Undercounting Native Americans: How ,~nd

Why”

“Karen Biestman, Ph.D., Faculty, Native American Studies and Assistant to the Dean, University of California, Berkeley “Identity and Educational Institutions”

l.UNCll ,-----Av~ilablc at II;1 l----

1:30-3:30

A.)

B.)

C.)

3:30-4:00

Afternoon Workshops

City level Census Efforts: Organizational Outreach and Complete Count Committees. Convened by Sally Gallegos l * Meet in the “Seniors Room”

The Census and Educational and I lcaith ncxxfs and services. Convened by Jim lamenti ** Meet in the “Dining Room”

Who is American Indian? Identity in urban at~d rural areas, and Federal recognition. Convened by Kurt Peters **Meet in the ‘living Room”

Final wrap-up: 10 minule recc)mmendatiolrs rcpoi I from each workshop. Chaired by Jim lamenti

ATTACHMENT C

nhY AREA TNUIAN AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES

tleet ing

Ttlursday, July 19, 1990

PLACE: I!rban Indian lieal th Clinic 3124 East 14th Street

Oakland. Ca. 94601

TIME : ;:30 PM

PRESENT : tittached 1 istinq

AGENDA

I. Up-date on Nelson tlandela vistinq - Betty Cooper

il. hssoci3tion of ,‘+mer lcan Indian Physicians Annual Meet ~nq Schedule of July 31 - Auq. 3rd. 1990 - Martin Waukazoo

111. Update L\I~ Census - Lori Newbreast, tlative American Census Coordinator

1’1. Oudqct (:uts - (State and County) - Richard Small, Martin Waukazoo, Dr. Ed Duran

“nraf t” MINUTES

I Uettj Cooper pr ovlded a overview of Helson Ilande 1 a ‘JlSl t

and planned activities of return visit. A letter 0C invitation was clel ivered.

Motion was made, second and unanimousLy voted to approve the letter of invitation in behalf of DAIAR. Betty Cooper/Jim Lament i (siqnatures to be obtained)

Motion was made, second and unamimously voted to submit a start up budqet and to include two position request for funding to the Association of Indian Affairs, New York

‘.

A committe was established to report to BAIAR’yon activities.

Meet inqs for plannlnq are held every Tuesday at liawttiorne sc~lool

11. ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN INDIAN PHYSICIANS HEETING-

1

ATTACHMENT D

~;OtlSORTIUM OF UNITED ItJDIAN NATIOFJS

1404 Ftanklin Street. Suile W202

Oakland. Calilornla 946 12

1415) 7633410

Hay 4, 1990

Off Ice of the HaYor Lionel VJ. Wilson Mayor City of Oak.larld City Hall One City Hall Flaza Oak land, California 94612

Dear Mayor Wilson:

Tile Bay Area I:rdian Agency Representativec (BAIAR) IlO , Ilet-eby , r;upport f t1e commun i ty ou t reach efforts of tile tIatj vs American Cens116 (Ioot-dinatnl. lor .t.lle City of Oakland.

He feel f,Ile (:ity of Clakland needs to Eupport every effort 111 our cou~rnur~ 11-y GO ’ i:at American IIldians llave 1.11~ best opportunity for .1 comple t4 ~:,JCIII t Fairly I lccted repret5etltativen, allocation -i :llndG ‘Il)d ,a I 1 ;Iccu ra tc p01.t t-a i t of f)IJ 1 d ivcrEe commun i t y 1.5 ;Jepatiden t OII 7.11 i 6 courl t .

iirtcerely:

America11 Fri\:rldfi Service, 452 East 14t)l Street, Oakland

ATTACHMENT E- 1

s,ONSORTIUM OF UNITE0 INDIAN NATIONS

: 404 Franklin Street. Suite #202

Oakland. California 946 12

1415) 763-3410

April 6, i990

‘, /I. Dear Community Leader: [, y&q*” (1 ('.'rirf

The F'Ut'FO6c3 of this letter is to ask for your cooperation t, 13 promote, motivate and help our Indian communitiee to answer %he census form . To achieve a whole count of our communities It 1s necessary ttlat an active informational campaign be set UP.

'iour help is Invaluable! ! !

Included i?re flyers and a poster 60 that YOU can post .?nd riistribute them in your newsletters , community centers and in your employees paychecks.

if you need more material and additional information, please feel Er-ee to t:olltact me Monday thru Friday from 9:OU am to 1:OU pm ;It ~115-452-1235 or Prom 1:OU pm to 5:OO pm at 415-763-3410. ‘I’hank

you very much for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Linda Lilly Coordinator of the Native American Community for the Census

ATTACHMEtiT E-2

(‘ONSORTIUM OF UNITED INDIAN NATIONS

1404 Franklln Slreel. Suite #202

Oakland. California 946 12

(4 15) 763-34 10

bly name i 5 I,inda L i 111, . I llave been l~ired 1)~ the (Ii t;, !> t nnkland as American Indian !:ommuni t\’ ~1oordinator to t ii\ tile !\merican community .

ilave developed and es three I ass is centers in for .1merican ‘I‘llese centers to assist to [ill their rorns to answer

questions individuals Below are informationai centers

1 . ‘l’i[E!.IIE:1LTjI CEN.I‘ER: East i4tll Street 6

Contnct Person: Co II n i e , 4 tt1 Floor

7 - . lJ:!I:‘ED I F!DIAN NATIONS: Franklin Stree

i:ontac t Person: Linda I,il ly

I:rul tva te

lreet

‘\ . i?ITT:RTRI BAL FRIENDSIII I’ 1lUUSE: 5 th :\venue 6 i-as t

s:untac t Person: 1 ~3c131 Service i,epnrtmerit

Tf il~dividuals (10 ilot leave 3 form, losr “1‘ ,iiilllVt ;‘ecr::‘e “lie, ttlev can ca IL the 8UU iiuinbers 1 isted on the flyer 110s ted at your center. ‘l‘lle Bureall, in turn, will prlt yorir name tliroligll t4eir computer to tlave ali enumerator come to your door. IVli e ii the enumerator comes to yollr residence, lle/stie will !lave ~011 fill out a long/short lorm. Only certain residences receive<\ a long form. The forms are designated I)y ttle computer SO the enermutor will be able to give the right form to you and Iielj) you to fill it out.

For the e~otltlr of June, the Bureau has re-coordinated efforts II) enumerate the (:it’y of Oakland due to the lack OF response as of May 31st. ‘i‘lley will enumerate beginning west uf Oakland and slowly moving eastward rint i 1 the end of .Jrtne.

On .June 30 ttl and July Is t, the following sites will be set III) in Oakland wi tll enumerators and forms:

I . Iligti Street 6 E. 14tll Street fblarketl I - . I’as tmont Mall 3. China town 8 th 6 Webs te 1‘ ‘1 . Acorn Sllopping Mall

(;OtJSOnTIUM OF UEJITEL IPJDIAN.NATIONS

! Slreel. Sulle * 202 ~?akland. Calllornla 946 12

(4 15) 763.34 10

ATTACHMENT E-3

June 22, 1990

Carol tlarquez-Baines Randall Cook ‘iouth Empowerment Program 3124 East 14th Street Oakland, CA 94601

Dear 1.!3. Balnes, and Hr. Cook:

i am the liative American Outreach Coordinator for the City of Oakland, the U.S.

l:ensus . and Llle office of UniLed India1 Hations, Inc. I’ly primary duties include

facilitating and encouraging Native Americans in Oakland to respond to the. 1990

‘I.S. Census. I can provide to the Youth Empowerment Program, a presentation about

!he social-historical impact of the U.S. Census on Native American tribes and

commu3i1 t ies ; or I can modify my presentation to meet the programs goais

of the Youth Empowerment Program.

:‘lease i:ontact me at ilr~iteci Indian flations, :f it is possible is maKe a

i~resentation to Lhe YollLh Empowerment Program: or if that 1s not possible,

I would like Lo schedule an informational :neeting ulth the ‘iEP staff.

‘Thank you 1 or your a ttentiorl to my request, aud I look forward Lo reply.

Sincerely,

Lori Newbreas t Native American Outreach Coordinator

I:ONSORTIUM OF UNITED INDlAk NArlONS

1404 Franklin Slreet. Swle *202

Oakland. Calilornla 946 12

(4 15) 763-34 10

ATTACHMENT E-4

.Juiy 11, 1990

I-0 : ‘rlre flembcrship of Bay Area Indian Agency Representatives

I- ROM : l,or i flcubr east, ilat ive American Outreach Coordinator

City oE (Jakland, Cnitcd Indian Natiorls, Inc.

!‘E : ‘.! . s . Census “L:ERE YOU COUNTED” campaign

Enclosed are ten (19) copies of the “Xerc You Counted” forms for

1.!rc 1990 1J.S. Census; it 1s the last opportunity for tlative Americans to

‘, c ror,ntci IlIlt 11 : !lC ?,?OO. PLCASE assist visitors to your aqcnc)

::I tilll~lg cut ~IICS~ forms. and provide 1)ostarJc. LE they did not:

1 . fill out the form rcccived at their llomc address

(as of frpril 1, 1990).

2. receive any C.S. Census forms at their address.

3 . llavc an U.S. Census enumerator visit their home, and

complete the required form.

4 . return form because it was misplaced or lost.

Every IIldian counts, and it is .vital that every Indian encouraqcs

family members, and friends to respond to the 1990 U.S. Census count.

If you have any questions I’lcase call me at (415)763-3410.

It was a tlonor and [llcasurc to have met tllc members of BAIAR

on July 6, 1990, and I anprcciate you cooperation and assistance with

t IlC “:Icrc You Counted” l1.S. Census campalqn.

WK I,IVE lItiRE! WE (:OUN’I IJE COIJNTEI) !

;lIpt’{l!;l(’ ‘I’0 AM I ISV IS A WIIOIIE (:OUNT OF OIIR I’EOPl,lt: I’1 I 5 VERY

I MI’ORTAN’I ‘I’llAT YOl1 A!; AN AMERICAN INI)IAN OR Al&RAN NATIVE

1; I I,I, olt’l ‘I’IIE (:KNSll!i l;Ol~M. YOUR IIRUAN I ND1 AN (:ENTRR ANI) ‘l-11 I HAI,

~;(bVI1:IINMII:N’l’:i IISE (:RN!iil:; Fl(:llRli;S ‘1’0 l’I,AN ANI) FIINI) Iir’lC(: I AI, 1’I~oGRAflS !;llf:II A:; Al)Itl,‘I’ Il:I)lJ(:A’l’ I ON (:II:NTERS, I)AY (:ARli (:ft;NTER!i, IlliAl,‘l’ll (:I, 1 HI (:S

ANI) ,JOlI ‘I’l(A I N I NC; l’RO(:RAM!i ‘1’0 IIELI 01111 (:OMHUN IT1 KS _

I Ml’Ol~TAN’I’ ! ! It A (: Ii ‘4 U E !i T I 0 N ? !

lIEAl) Oli IlOlJSEllO1,1)

I I‘ l.t~o IIOI~SEI1OI,I)IEI~ ( ~‘RRSON I ) relx)rl;n race as WHITli arltl PERSON 2,

:I itrlci 4 nfx AMlilll(:AN I Nl)lAN, 1.h I f5 hofftseL0 Ltl wou 3 tl be I.0 t)ul a t,eci 1 n l.hf? ‘~0 I ttmrt I 1ii3t.n ~~roci~fc!l.r3 ne n “WIlITli” fnmll y tlorlnetlo id 11 I nce I.l1c:r;e ;, t‘l? I~ilfl<?(l IllI l.ht: rncx 0 f I.he lIoUSEIIOI,l)ER ( l’ER!;ON 1 1 (:I1 I, 1-y

1’ r i II 1. lilll,l, Ilame 0 I‘ ‘I’11 I III< ( I _ e. , OUa Ia SiOUX, Nor t;tlerrl

(:kyerlrle ( Nnva.)o , Ili~yurrn I’llel) IO ) . I I. I cs okay Lo 1 nd 1 ca Le more

I.tlan one I.r t be.

Fill ONE circle

3 T

8CC

Ill ONE drcle lor the race that the person

considen htmself/hersePH to be

If lndlan (Amer.), print the name OI

the enrolled or prlnctpal t&e _

If Other Aalan or Paclflc Islander (API). prlnl one group. for example: timong,

l’lttan. I.aolkm. Ihal. Tongan. PakIstanI.

( ‘ambodlan, and M on

White

Black or Negro

0 Indian (Amer I (Print the name of the

, Pflro’lo! P!. !?!nclpa!b’be ’ 7 _ .

Eskimo

1 Aleul A5ian or P&k Islander (API)

I 1 J Chinese o Japanese

1 Flllplno H 1 ) Aslsn lndlan

’ ) Hawallan / 1 Samoan

’ Korean Guamanlan

Vlefnamese I Other API 7; j

(hher race (I& race) J

I NFORHAT I ON/ASS I STANCE CENTISH

IlliAI,TlI (:ENTicit I FII IlNlTEI) I NDLAN NATIONS

3022 1;. I4’l’ll IiT !);!:I 15. 14Tll ST. 14U4 FRANKLIN ST. 11202 OARI,ANU OAKLAND OAKLAND %61- lUB2 452 -1235 763-3410 9 - 4 E’n in r rlf r- ‘O- L PO? I) - 4 PM

i,,PY\ 3- 7 P/Y-l

ATTACHMENT E-6 ‘:ClPJSORTIlJM OF Ut)ITED ItJDIAN NATIOt~1S

,104 Ffaflhllfl Slreel. Su~le a202

1 *ahland. Calilornla 946 12

1.115) 763-3410

.JUl:: 18, l990

nutI\ Buct~annon

Site Director

llintil Ku Ca Child Development Center

11850 Campus Dr i,:e

Oa.kland, c:rl 94619

[Iear :!s. Ducllannon:

_ would 1 i ke t!rc ~~nclosed forms to be distrlbute:i + o

all the r:t\ildrelr at t-he Ilintil center; as 3 rOOuCr~t I’.‘”

YEfOrt !)y the (ILL-; of Oakland Outreacll Pro)ect, <lik(i t :.cj

‘Ia k 1 a 11d Ftltl1 ic Sct\ools to ensure 3n .i,:curate cz~)t~nt 1;;’

!Jat ive Americans ill Oaklal\d is conci!xcteu. ?I\62 ” ;; e r e ‘1. m !\ ‘,‘I fl t c*i ”

campa iql\ is tlje Last opportunity oE indi*/icluals t.o be ,:o~~ntcd

111 tile 1990 1l.S. ‘~cnsus; tl\is campaign ends on .JuLy ~7, 1390.

I tlave enclosed copies oE earlier Letters, I Itat ‘.,I r 1 t t P 1, ‘?

‘f 0 u concerninq tllis matter. I tlope York llad a restful ‘.‘acatzon,

and if t;ou llave any questions please call me at ‘,115!763-!410.

Zespectfuily,

‘,or 1 llewhreast

rlative American c>rttrcach c:oordinator

ATTACHMENT F

0ntllJ-J

2 t-4 E

III

b4u

JfI.2 u

-l 2 113 r4

E-+ 0

3 111

Ii w

o

f ri

c *

* c

c *

* *

* *

c c

c x

* c

*- .J

3 -

- (7

WI

t-4

.

XTTACHNENT G-l

NT I VI TY REKf?T_ Phase I: March l&June 30. 1WO

This first ptlase was cmducted bv two Native American Census Coordinators, due to a change 1ri prsmnel. Tie lnltial duties wet-e undertakm by Linda L~llv. The secmd Cc&-donator. Lot-1 Newbreast. @an tier work m ,Iune 18. 1790.

March 16-28, 1990

1. Cmrdlnator attmded a few- hcur training sesslm cmducted bv Elaine i%fnocey , :.lative Cknerlcan Fieglmal Cmt-dinatclr rrlth the U.S EPlreau OT the Cmcus in San Franclcco. -7 i. Planned and organ1 zed a “Cmnity Dinner and Tanhcuse Pkting y=lr Varch ;Pth at Intertt-lbal Friendship ticuse. This event was funded by a rcmm.ln1 tv Set-beice Block Grant thrcugh 011 ted Indian Natims. Cher 253 [eople attended to tear the keynote speaker. Elaine Pempeev. 51le ernpllaclzed the lmmrtance to f4ative fknericans of filling out and returning the c7pr 1 1 1 c t Cmsus fnrmc . A qtestim and answer period was scheduled arld f llers rn Che (Yensus were distrltuted. I t was announced that assistance cmterc rwcwld be established at a later date. Eight agencies participated at thi5 event.

March B-April 6, 1WO

1. Fliers cere developed and printed abcrlt t)-e cmsus. 7 L. Heetings were scheduled with comwnltv agencies to establish support for the Census efforts and to discemlnate the Cmsus fliers for use 111 their caters. newsletters and employee pavchecks.

!. Tile Coordinator met with three of the largest Native Ptnerlcan ccxrwunity cmterc to establish assistance centers. These centers twx!ld provide informaticrr abcut the Census and assistance with ccmoletlm of Census forms . Centers were thcls establish& at:

1. Intertribal Friendship Iicuse -7 I. rktive A-net-ican Health Center 7 . . Lllited Indian Nations, Inc..

2. Posters were handmade for every agency that served Native knerican climtale to provide information about the assistance CmterS. Tt-ese agencies receiving assistance center information were:

1. Intertribal Friendship l-louse - 1. . Native &nerican t!eal th Center 7 . I LiltEd Indian Natlms, Inc. ‘1 . liintll Ku Ca Child lkvelopnent Center 5. rJative &net-ican 4lcoholism R Drug Program 0. Urban Indian CtliId Rescurce Center

. >r’cxlth Empcwerment Program.

7 - . 5ctrrlules were established at the three assistance centers. 4. Volunteers were trained and assigned work times at the assistance

ATTA'XMENT G-2

cmters. 7. 0 Census troth was malntained for 4 hours at the intertribal FrIEndshIp I-lcrlce thnual Easter Picnic m fApri1 7. 1793.

April 16-27. 1790

1. Census testing, in cmrdlnatim with Bi 11 Fearier of the Oakland Cmsus Rit-eau, ti)as cmducted ~1 ttl 13 Native &nericans at Lhited Indian Nations. Inc. 11 passed. 7 . lk~~tings ~$1 th Cmt-dlnatot-s were mooing In order to cmkinue cutreact? sctivitb r?ians reqardlng Oakland Fublic 5chcwIs Cmws Dav and clt~;-:riue Caravan.

[Ttw Coordinator. ?!c. Lilly. notes here in her remrt that as of Plav 1st. tie fr lndlng for tar tialf-time pp5itim was transferred ft-cm Uiited Indian Natims. lr~c. !o a Tit\, of Oakland cmtract awarded to Lhited Indian Matims. Inc. ] &xi 1 m-Nay 12, 1990

1 ‘. Ctntlriuti to oversee operatim of the assistance cmters. 7 i. C~wit inued rrleetinqc LJ~ th other Ccw-dinators regarding aitreach activities. 7 . 01 Fla\, 5, I IF Coordinator met again rgi th Mrican Indian organizatims Co ask inr thelr caitinued support m the Cmsus. A group letter of support was glvm bv tlte organizatims. ‘1 . 1% lnformatimal booth dispensing Census fliers, Luttms and pclsterc. teas set IID at Mil Is Co1 Ieqe POI*-WIS+ in Oakland.

I.!av 14-25, 1990

1. rile assistance cmter operatims were evaluated. t3 new scheaule 1.~5 develo[ecf for the volunteers and the Coordinator. The Executive Director-s wet-e asked to designate me staff member at each agency as tI= persal to InzIp people fill cut forms. rile persms wzt-e ths designated:

a. Native Anerican Health Cmter - Connie b. Intertribal Friendship Hrxlse - 6311 Social Workers C. United Indian Natims, Inc. - Dimne, Receptionist.

2. LX-wing several meetings, including me of May 22, a presmtim was planned for the rwelc of June 2Sth-30th at a series of youth-adult workshops to be sponsored by Native Anerican organizations. 3 . Also arranged was a Census bzoth to te maintained for three days at ttP lllird Fhnual Intertribal Pew-&w held June 7-10th at Kaiser Cmvmtim Center.

‘1 . New fliers wet-e developed that reversed to sh134 the ‘Were Ycu CaJnted?” forms . lhese forms were distribclted to the Native &nerican organizations and Ieelped fulfill activities for the “Were Ym Canted?” campaign. 7 . . Intertribal Frimdstlip House cmsmted to release of their mailing list fc7r purposes of disseminating the fliers.

[There is a break in the activity report at this pint because the new Cmrdinator, Pk. MEwbreast, asswned the duties formerly hzld by Pk. Lilly. It shculd also be noted that some of the activities overlap into Phase I I,

ATTACHXENT G-3

as they Include tr-aininq fclr activity In the “l?ere ‘rat CaInted?” ramoalqn. Other Pllase I acti\;ities that Lvere maintained bv the nest Cmrdlnator t,er-e:

a. Hcnitat-lno of LIP assistance centers, !I. i‘tndi~ctinq KIltreach Clctlvlties in the I\latiL,e ttirican cLmrxlnlt:, 7 . ;teetlnq b+ith Cencus of ficlals. cmrdinators.

June lE+-22, 1990

1. The Ccwrdinatcrr received a me-hour crlentatim frcvn the mt-goint Cmrdina tor , 7 L. 61 meetlnq WI th ‘the (Tity Nanaqer of G-akland and other CLtreacn Cmrdinators clarified qoals nf the prcqt-am. -7 . @ttler tralnlnq included attendance at .a cmrk+mp cmduc ted bv Elaine I’mnpsey, Cc.wrun1 ty Acyarevecc Specj al is t for ttle U.S. ELlreau of t t .e Census. ‘1 . ht tended ttle Sumner Irlstl tote 07 Indian Educatlm cfxnsored bv Uak lana Public: Sct-~~~hoo~. Off ice of Indian Educatim. 7 L . AI.tenaed ttmz Intertribal Friendship 1 hclce ccmuni ty dinner snd dicplayed Cmcu~, Infor-matlm. 6. t9mitora and updated ir;fot-matim at the three establIshed assistance cmters.

1 -’ Ccrm-unity aqency dirwtnrs wet-e cmtactfd hv letter rdith rwuests to cmduct Cenrus activities a their sites. 2. Sal brmzno, U.S. Census District Spervicor pro~:lded tralnlnq fcr tt-e “ldere knl Cc2unted7” campaiqn. -7 .‘. Jc part of mtreach. Ille Cmt-donator crnauct~d s r,ar-Lchp oc t!e i&t1 .e Au,lerIca1, r~lc~lxzl Prqt-am 51 te fcrr 5taf f and r-Ecidents. J1 . A rlvstIng ~41th the Claklarld City I,lanaper pr-cvlded prmrarn \~lat~s. 5 . Foe-t.-C&us Local Revlerg lnfcrrmati& \<a5 Ivovlded at an +55cxlatlm of @a*,, t%-ea C;overnmentc rneetlnq. fit this time a iol ~CW-up meerlnq L,Jas set L.lltl1 Frarlk Eihardt of the Uakland City Planning Department. h. Planninq for a Al\ 10th event was ccuxrdinated with the ‘rcuth Ernpc-vszrment Prey-am Staff at 3124 E. 14ttl St. 7. FurttEr- training fort- tte “Net-e \rcu Canted?” campaign was provickd b,, Fhita Fmq, Census Aide Cn State Ssator Santana and Elaine Dempsey.

XTTACHMEXT G-4

1. 41 1 ktreach Coordinators met and planned strateqies f@r the “Were YCU Cckln ted?” campaign. 7 L. iIF Cbtreach planr,ing for nine Native 6knerlcan c~~nlty organliatims +ra5 crigoing . 7, . ~1 premtatim was develom and cmducted for the Pav firea Indian ~%ofncv Pket inq. This Informatimal precentatim abait the “‘!4ere ECU rcrc1r1 t Ed ‘” camoaiqn was teat-d try Executive Directors of twelve coccal, medical and c-lnItv Cet-L’lce aamcies that cet-ve Natib,e FLnericai-6. .1 . !~~tr~ach cmtactc were continued at ccnmlnlty aaenclec and assistance cEnter5 in CMland. 5i tes fclr these cmtacts were:

4 . irltertribal Friendship House ‘1. Cmcortlum of ChitFd Indian Natims

. I-k-ban Indian Health Pcrard 1 . Iilntil IWLI (Ia Child Developwnt Center

F-. Ikban Indian Child Reccrlrce Center . rlatlve Anerican Ministry

!_! . ilative Anerican FIlcclhol ism Prcqram 11. Uffice of Indian Educatim. Oakland Public 5cchools 1 . bcclng at Mart Senior Prcqram

July 9-13. 1990

1. ibtreach activities cmtinued Gth a “Census AssIstaxe Dav’ cmducted at ttq i‘rnerlcan Indian tktman Services Bulidinq. 7 L. lt>e activities for July 18 and for July 15 were planned with tk director of the Intribal Friendship hcuse. I; . Tile “bJet-e You Ccxin ted?” campaign was cmtinued with the dlstritutlm r3f 111ft3-rnatim tc, eighteen Native &nerican community organliatims. 4 . h four-tmxlr pre&>tatlnl was given at t)le Native &nerican Snner tllgh Sctrml Prcqram at @altlar,d High School. 5 . Ille ccw-dinator continued to u@ate the assistance centers with new CM~\IS informatim and continued to mmitor their operatims. b. irlditjmal Census irlformatim was provided to eight Native bnerican ccvrwn 1 ty aqenc ies .

July 16-20, 1990

1. rtle “l4ere ‘~a.1 Ccunted?” campaign cmtinued with plans to distribute tkse forms to eighty-five student5 at Hintil Kuu Ca Child DeveloaRlt cm tFr . Planning for dictributim was cmducted with the staff at the

ATTACHMENT G-5

Cmter. - L. Cbtreach was cmducted at the Intertribal Friendship House corwwnlty dinner. 3. A preeentatim was made to the \rcrcnq at Heart %nl@t-s qroclp. Enql15rl and Cpanlctl Cmsus fcwns r,w-e dlstr-lbuted. *I . l)le cmrdinatc?r aqaln at tended the Pay 1%ea lndlan +mcv Qepresentatives meeting to provide an update m census actlvi t\r’. lncluainq that of Ille “ILkre ‘r mu Cmln ted?” Campaiqn . 4 . Eight CLwvwn1 tb anncnnc inq iu ture distt-3txited.

:i tee were provided with actlvitv informatim. F i iers active ties and ~‘bkre fcxl Ccun ted?” forms . a-e

July 23-27. i990

1. Planninq cmt nued rqlth the Hintil Child Pevelopnmt staff for distt-lkltirn of Were Lccc Cmintedd7” forms. L. A Native Anerlcan Outreach Program Census event. totaling tr Irut-5, :ms held m July 25. 1990 at Intertribal Friendship llcrlce. “I~&-e <a~ Town ted” fclrms wet-e distritwt&d and collected. 5 . 11e assistance cmters were updated reqardinq current Cmsus activities. lncludinq e?tmsim of the Were YN Ccwnted?” campaign.

Julv x3-Guqust 3. 1990

1. “!,kt-e \OJ Counted?’ fc?rms rere distributed at Hintil kuu Ca C)Jild I’eveiocrrnt Center. t-1 I SC2 , the cmrdinator cmducted fcllcw-uo m -,he co1 lectlm of Census forms. - . . Irifclrmatim atxut tk cmtinuatim of ttle Census telephcne number, l- @w-999-1 WO, was distrih.bted via 19 Pay Area Indian ibrncy Representatives. 3. Fol lcw-up was cmducted m the Native berican filcoholism Proqram visit (1~ dlctritutinq and collecting “Were Yen Ccxvlted?” forms. 4. Illfornlatim ccvlcerninq ttle cmtinuance of U.S. Census activities and Post-Census Local and Naticnal Review was disseminated at a Pay Area Indian i\ueficv Representatives meeting. 5 . The Cbtreach Cclclrdinators barked at a Census bzoth at China to.+1 5 Stretftist. Cm5us psters, hlttms, and sunvisors wet-e given wt. “biere ‘cm Ccrinted” forms were available and ccme were ccvnplekd. t-. L’rnsus &b-each Ccw-dinator reports were written in @uqust for the City of Oakland and for United Indian Platim’s dccuwntaticnrzc&hrwrmts.

ATTACHMENT H-l

“COMMUNITY DINNER AND TOWNHOUSE MEETING”

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28TH DINNER: 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. .

MEETING: 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

c PLACE: IFH, 523 E. 14TH STREET, OAKLAND, CA 94601 &2- 1235

Participating Agencies: Urban Indian Health Board, Inc.; Native American Alcoholism Program; Title IV Indian Education; Urban Indian Child Resource

Center; Bay Areo Native American Ministry; InterTribal Friendship House;

American Indian in Business; Youth and Empowerment Program.

Flyer: Courteoy of Interlrtbal Frlendrhlp ttouao (IFH)

ATTACHMENT H-i

I.V\RCIl 28, I?90 CUI4MUNITY DINNER & TOWNIIOUSE MEETIN (

Master of Ceremonies - Betty Cooper. I1 d)AP

PRESENTATIONS : J;ids Awards - Bill Wahpepah Art Calendar Contest

10 FlINUTE PRESENTATION

(Iensus Community Awareness Specialist c:ensus. breau ii1 aine Dempsey

5 MINUTE PRESENT A’ION

Cay Area Native merican Ministry/Paul Schultz

i:ILS/Charlene Bitsillie

‘JIN/Sally Galleqos

CORP for. merican Indian Development

Friendship llouse Association/llelen Waukazoo

Gay American Indian/Randy. Urns

international Indian Treaty iouncli/Antonio Gonzales

!FIl/Sharon Bennett

Y RAP/Betty Cooper

TITLE V /Evelyn Lamenti

San Pablo Indian Baptist Church/Ron Starr

Urban Indian Child Resource Center/ Irene llooper

Urban Indian llealth/Martin Waukazoo

0 U.S. CENSUS 1390 U.S. CENSUS 1990 U.S. CEilSi,:: 1990 [:.S. CE’JSUS 1990 U.S. CEIISIJS 1590 u .S. CZNSUS 1:12()

NATIVE AMESIChN COMVLJNITY LI:IlIL:H

“AE:SWER TH El990 U.S. CZLGI!S"

6.p.m.

Intertr lbal Frienslllp House

523 East 14th Street

Oakland, CA 94606

(415) 452-1325

Sr,ons,:-ed Ey:

Inter zribal Frlt:lSi,li, tl~lli

United Indians tqatlon:,, I;

City cf Oakland, Natil'ir

American Outreazti Fror;r_~~

for tr,e 199G U.S. Censr!s

ATTACHMENT J- 1

CENSUS COORDINATOR’S REF’ORT

for

IJNITED INDIAN NATIONS, INC.

September, 199(I)

Table of Contents

1 . Set: t i on fllle : F;‘eport for City Council

0. Cover 1 etter to Mark WOO P. . Out1 ine for city report I:. Final report of activities !I . IrJorl..p I ans E . I-It-iglnal coordinator notes

II. Set: 1. ion Two : Fromotional Materials

r\ . Fl iers, activities K, . 3eturn Record for c 1 ty- June 14. 1990

III. Sect ion Three: Correspondence

17 . l-et ters B . Sign-ins for activities

IV. Set t i on Four : F'ubl icat ions

R. Cerlscrs Statistics for fimerican Indian F’opulation P . Other rel evant pub1 ications

ATTACHMENT J-2 .

,IONSORTIUM OF UNITED INDIAN NATIONS

1404 Franklin Street, Suilg #202

Oakland. Calilornia 946 12

(4 15) 763-34 10

September 11, 1990

City Plansqer’s OffIce

Line City Hal 1 Plaza

Oak 1 and. CA

@ear Plr . Woo:

Enr I c?ced ‘, ou I41 I I find the rJat1L.e American Lencuc Outreach

Coo!-donator c Re!z@rt. This report PJ~S compll ed by Ramona IJ1 lson

of tt11s offf1ce.

!de 11ope this report r~rill be of assistance in preparing the City of Clal. I and s final ferxt- t. Please call if ~,‘ctu have any nuee 1 I of-35 .

SIncerely.

c1 /K.&2,c&A tu-J

Sal IV G$lle~oc. E,*e Itive Direc tcr Cfn1 tEd Indian IJatlons

ATTACHMENT J-3

r Census Outreach Coord&Dators'Reoort PO 9 ou r DO ed tlln ' e fo

I. Executive Summary ( 2pg.max.)

II. Summary of Activities (Description of activities accomplishments,direct and indirect impact,cost,activity time)

A. With Census l.During each phase:Census assistance,Non-response follow-

up,Were You Counted campaign,etc.. 2.Recruitment/Training/Employment

8. Within each targeted community 1. Community events 2. Publicity/promotion 3. Outreach and advocacy

C. Within Coordinators'group(shared activities)

III. Working Relationships with Other Groups

A. City government 1. Mayor's Office 2. city Council 3. City Manager's Office 4. Planning Department 5. Other departments

B.Census Bureau 1. Local:Operations and community awareness 2. Regional: Operations,community awareness, and policies

C.Complete Count Committee

D.Oversight Committees

E. Site supervision

IV. Additional Community Census Efforts( Activitiee provided by other groups exclusive of contracted activities)

V. Assessment of undercount(include issues and rationale )

VI. Recommendations for short term and 2000( effective and non- effective strategies)

i

M.TACHMENT J-3

ProDosed Outline for Census Outreach Coordinators'Reoort

I. Executive Summary ( Zpg.max.)

II. Summary of Activities (Description of activitie.s accomplishments,direct and indirect impact,cost,activity time)

A. With Census l.During each phase:Census assistance,Non-response follow- up,Were You Counted campaign,etc..

2.Recruitment/Training/Employment

B. Within each targeted community 1. Community events 2. Publicity/promotion 3. Outreach and advocacy

C. Within Coordinators'group(shared activities)

III. Working Relationships with Other Groups

A. city government 1. Mayor's Office 2. City Council 3. City Manager's Office 4. Planning Department 5. Other departments

B.Census Bureau 1. Local:Operatlons and community awareness 2. Regional: Operations,community awareness, and policies

C.Complete Count Committee

D.Oversight Committees

E. Site supervision

IV. Additional Community Census Efforts( Activities provided by other groups exclusive of contracted activities)

V. Assessment of undercount(include issues and rationale )

VI. Recommendations for short term and 2000( effective and non- effective strategies)

ATTACHMENT J-4

NPll- I VE c?PIER I CAN

CENSUS OUTREACH COORDINc?l-OR’S

REPORT

Submitted to City Manager's Office

UNITED INDIFSN NFITIONS. INC.

ATTACKPlENT J-5

Executive Smnarv..................................,.l

&m-nary of Activities With Census ................................... . Within Targeted Ccvmunity .................. ...4 Within Gordinator’s Grci~p .................. ..S

Working Relationships With Othec Grmps IJith City Cwvernrnmt..........................b Wi t h Census Bxeau. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Wditimal Ccwrunity Cer~sus Efforts.................7

Fksessmmt of Lhdercamt............................El

Recumendatims.............. e.....,............... 10

- Appendices !, f 1 iers. tables)

ATTACHMENT J-6

The Bay &-ea herlcan Indian Ccmnunitv Ilad begun to be activeiv cmcerne about tk IWO L.t~ited States Census a5 early as 1787. Rtt evm prevlcus to ttils, an0 cmcurrent , b-J.35 the realizatlol that t!~ iLwrlcan Indian pqxlatim was undercrxnted .$nd invlcitrie to government providers of h-iman cervices and to the general (~lc~bl ic. 1 t wac difficult to assess populatim characteristics and trends of ttp Irldian wpulatim because of lack of cmsistmt informatim. For evample. ! t le 1970 CEOS~IS cm Id Ilot offer a resource base for any accurate ccmyri5mc. Surveys elxwed that FLrerican Indians resfxnded to census forms at a Icw rate. and varlocts factors, such as rwbi1 ity rates of the pzwiatim. St-red that t-he typ:cal f3xmleratim systems employed b\, the Cens41s Rlreau were not effective In counting iherlcan Iljdian people. Please see ttmz “Plasessment of Lhclerccur I t ” cecticri of tliis report for an elaboratim of main factors.

ill 19e?, ?Ile Rw-eau nf t)e Census spmsored meetings of the “East Bay Census and Ccrmwni t \’ I.letwork ” ttlat dlccussed future tactics In rcunting minority groups and the role t)@t local ccwnwllty grcwlps could have ln this effort. In February of 1-q the l)lrector of lhited Indiarl Naticws attended a natimal census meeting lnvolvlr~u leaders of &nerlcan lndlan grfxlps. ,At this meeting, t)e cmcerns of Awrlran lnrjlane amlt the census. natimwlde. were discussed. In 1%8 and 1989. tie lr-11~1 I.iasm Frnjram ~pec~a1is.t made numercus appearances at Indian m-~,~n~~at~~1~~ to prcrmte CRI~CIS actlvltv and to mccw-age Merlcan Indians to apcib’ fc’r cmcc~c ~my,Iovnent. Tle Speciall~t trcnclucted training felt- Indian ~~Cl~~lidtlW dIrEctor entl ot)w- rtaf f In krtoter. IW~-J and fol Icwed tlsese el forts, In later mmths. ~1tl3 e-tmsims of that training. I)- tralnlng efforts Iel& t-ctat3lish a core of IOr>cr~ledgeable pef3oie !n t te Indian ccrrmlnl ty ihat weld later carry cut c~licuc objectives.

I-ffal ly. ttmz Pay Area rherlcan Indian Representatl>;Es (EVWIR). :hrcugh cmtacts t,rlltj tlr? Trllal Liascw Specialist. expressed tJ-elr Interest and cmcern ~rl obtainlry an accurale ccunt of American Indians. TIP 19EKj f iowes. were of ClXlrY?. clLrco1Ete. and ccnsidered to te seL,erelv IPA. 11e obtaining of fundlng for I r.~rn+n set-vices ICI a crl tical and ever-present goal for organizatims. Eb:Ictlrlg 5ervlce deli\.erv systems are over--twrdmF?tl r,rI th the leL,el of fundlno cw-rt?f1 t 1 t ~~.ailable. Later figures, obtained ttrrcwyh other recearc~~ efforts. wc~~lci xhstantiate what was already I:nam by service providers: tlmt 11~ Mrican Indian r.cmtlatlol has ccl-inued Co grew at a faster rate than ncn-Indian pqxlatims.

ATTACHMENT J-7

coordinators te )msed at a cmnwnity orqanizatim site. 011 y an accepted and knowledoeable aroanizatlcrl ~111 be able to lend credibllitv to cutreacn efforts ln tile ccwwrlity itself. A canwnity organl:atlm I-5 the establisluxf cmtacts and network alreatly in place that facilitates the Job of an outreach coordinator. Fur tt et- , a ccrrm.kn~ tv based orqanizatim, rattw- tlw3 a city government office. e(i5cw-es Cl-t ttxz cmrdlnator may functim 6.11 t)l tte acltoxny necessary to efficierltly caplete ttre q~\rn tasks.

In a qmeral assessment of tk role of ccMn\nitv orqar3lzatlms ln the cms4Js C’rClJEC t , cpeclfically (OIlted Indian Natims, It is first evldmt that the process MS extremelv Laluable fr?r \tn? qrcupz r-epresmted bv the cutreact> ccxzrdlnators and tk trrmbers of the Cnnplete Ccurit Cmitee. Tile groups wclrked toqether ~~11 arid f cur id many comnm cmcerns a5 citizens of CGkland. It is hcped that this cpirlt of cccperatim ~111 cmtinue and that the.evprlmces In the census effort r*ill mrich the partlclpants. 1 t is further Ilcrped that the ewperlmces of ccwvnml tv organizatims and cutreach cuxdinators wil 1 Lw noted and assessed for future b’ears. k-s nuch as the cutreach coordinators and Ccmolete Count CCNWII t tees wet-e able to acccunplisll. the time to do 1 t In was \‘et-v chzw t , and strzrtEned fctrtkr Llecause the roles of all mtlties irwolved were Ilot defined. Tke ~-Excvxitri 11 tie. if anv. of cities in the Cmws effort skuld Lw delineated co that cut>, off3clals mav ImplemMt proqram otrjectiL,es IIT a tlmelv fasl~lcn. f+ it , 1 I P Pureact 0 f the C~n5.c~ uus t a 1 so cuppot- t , rul th adequate staff and funding. 1l-e activities dW desirable in obtaining an accurate count of U.S. cl tlzms.

t.’

ATTACHMENT J-8 _ 6, _ _

II. - CF KTIVITIE5

MXIVITIES WITH -

lXlrlng the first phase, March l&-June 30, Census assistance activities were designed to inform the f%erican Indian c~l~nun ity that census. forms should be cunpleted and returned and secmdly, to inform the comruni ty of the cur-poses of the mumera t&-s. These activities were by nature, educatimal and motivatIonal and were accanplished thratgh sponsoring events and by establishing assistance cmters at heavily used agencies that serve Native Americans. During the second phase, July Z+uqust 3, activities cmtinued at the assistance centers and events were ongoing.

after May 31, the focus was m non-response fol lowup. Those who had not been c-ted were informed that it was yet possible to be c-ted by mumerators. &asistance center5 cmtinued to educate people about the status of the cmsus

project in Oakland.

The “b&-e YW Counted” campaign actually began in the Phase I period. during the week of May 14-25th, with fliers containing informatim about this Phase, as well as a print of the actual “Were You Ccxrnted?” form, distributed thrwgh the Native Amrican organizations. The campaign was carried m thrmgh the md of the activity period of August 3, 1990.

The recruitment of the coordinator was dme within the Native FLnerican CcfrnurlAty. This was important in order to mgaqe sonxn e who r*llld knew ano be accepted by the c-1 ty. The recruit-t of volunteers for the assistance centers was dme through cooperatim with the Native Qmerican agmcies in which they were located. Ttle Directors of tkse aqmcies later lent ,vital assistance to the cmsus effort when tky arranged that staff memoers could act as census assistance personnel when needed.

Training from CRlsus &reau personnel came mainly f ran the Census CumaJni ty bareness Specialist from the Tribal Liascn Program. St- provided the initial

4 hcur coordinator training as ~~11 as two other sessions. Wditimal tralnlnq was provided by the U.5 Census District Supervisor for the “Were Ycu -ted?” campaign. The Coordinator’s grcaJp itself was of great value as many times, problems cuild be clarified and solved by sharing.

The Coordinator was at first employed at half-time for two months. The City Cavlcil formally al located mmies to the mtreach Coordinator program m March 20. 1990. It was socn apparent that the tasks caJld not be accomplished in this amalnt of time. The position was re-stated as full-time, with the City Ccuncil approving an extmsim hrdqet to last from May 29-Auqust 17th, 1990.

3

ATTACHMENT J-9

KTIVITIES WIlHIN llf T- aMzNITy

Clbtalnlng a complete ccclnt of Native Pnlerlcsns zrl the Chited Slates has I ts an unique ohs tat 1 es. the largest obstacle being an ~nherecjl distrust cr feelings of dlcenfranchlcemE17t from tie Federal qovernmt. The Native Chprlcan (LItreact Ccrxdinator had to ackncr~ledqe these feellnqs In tier- audiences In order to present lnformatlm abcxtt lr*4 tlxz censu5 procecs did actual ly roar-k. This cmnxlnity percecltim. r*tr=n allaned b,Jith tt7e overal 1 Ixattern of lcu resmse level5 frcxn the city @f (!.3l.Ja&5 lCW?r-lncm neiqhtmrIrrdc. ‘CCRJ~~ dCCut-atFly

predict that Native Americans rxxlld not read1 ly complete and return cmsus forms. As of April Xttl. crily XJ:I of the forms mailed to Oakland r-txidmts were returned.

Therefore. the mKt effective activities t-t-e events and ccltt-each efforts cmducted trtPre Native h-e-lcans rurlld qo to obtain services or rsuld qo to participate In xclal and cl11 tut-a1 activities. The Native Anet-icans in Oak land do not IlLe In any area In any slieable ccrlcentratim txlt gaLher for the above stated (xIrCT)ses at service cmters such as as t!P Urban Indian Health Cllnlc and Chl ted Intilan b4alio1s or at ct.wm\n1 t\ events such a(5 ttie c&?tered CI~S-I tte Nednesrfay ccwnxlnl ty dinners al lnter.tribal FrIendshIp at the several PCW-LGU-JS r-eqular-Iv I-Id In the imnedtate area.

P\clrl iri Cy and prmt im for tte cec~ccs effor-ts cmtet-cd ccp f I iers. posters and appear ar ices at ev(71 t 5 t I7emce I VE’C.. In format icn was rw+l ar I v upda tfx! f f-c*11 I.‘L~-Ic-us @ureal~ informatim.

ATTACHMENT J-10

Pltbl ICI ty and promotim for tip CET,ISUS ws done mainly through the appearances

at events IhernselL~e~ arid throuqh dissewllnaticn of fliers. bract-w-es and Fosters. 7le Cefv4.1~ promnt~mal materials that tarqeted Native &nericans were those most IUSed . “LIsten ‘to the IIrum. Raise Yew- Voice”, “Name Your Tribe. Fhswer the cEnc;us . ” “l,k Are 641 1 Clxildren of riotIler Earth. Name Yts\r Trltw. Fhswet- the CenCCl5. ” t9ere al I effective. and used cc11 turd1 1~ rneanlnqfcll slogans to gain the attentlcn of the Native ChPrican populace.

IAItreach activJt1e5, a3 a formal basis. numbereo 10. In additim to the continued mainterxwce acid c@date of infnrmatim at the assistance centers. These act1v1 t1ec : nc I uded attendance at cctxdulefj p-w At- ea Anerlcan Indian Represmtatlve meetlnqs. The coordinator provided updates for the Directors of ayenc~es C~KJ could and did offer t& assistance of tt7eir qralps tcward ‘the Cmsus efforts. ltwv also in tttrn. acted as res4x.wces for informatim for the people they served. For example. tlley I~lpecl disperse lnformatim about the census Klo number and post-census activities.

Asslstar~ce cerrtetrs were established at Intertribal Friendship House. Urban Indian ilea tll Cwlter and at IhIlLed Indian Naticvls, IIK. These centers were establistnzd llwcuqh tl-e cccceratim of the agencies tkmse!ves. 4-m dmated space and staf f I lmf? tc1 ll3e ce7191c. of few t. Other ef fectlve active ties included workshops r:cndclctr,-d at ttr Oaklar~d Pilblic Sctrv?l ccmww- school, for residmts of the Native CVIIW 11:al ~llcotr~l Frclqram. for tte Younq at Heart Senior Citizens and for the rcxttt~ Empcwerrwn t Proqram. Cl,ltreach was also cmducted thrarqh Hintil Kuu Ca Clli Id Pe~:eIc-pwnt C:rwter . “1Jere ‘<a~ Ctwn ted” f or-m5 were distrlhtted and co1 Iectfd thrcxcyh this agency.

11-e cccmtlnatorc l~elpzd each other cieflne qoals and actlvltles and generated ldeac fnr 11ew actlL.Ities. ~IPV ar ted as a qroup, fat- example. In finding the In1 tj.31 1.1 cy’ocwj cmtrac ts [r~ Apt-l I IZtll lo be lwussible ‘o accept. Tk cmtractc. &*--t-c tlrlreaI15tlc rllle lo (llaciny tip burden of obtalninq Lusiness 11cer1cec. liab~ 11 tv insurance. PJorkt-r-s Compznsatim alld hlslness 1 iabi 11 C\/ ltwtwatxe II~DI tte crxwdlnatws tlwfwelves. TIw ctxwdlnators also acted as a qrcwp lo advocate lot ccw(;llete f?1kww?-atlcvl of the ethic ccrmwnities in Oakland.

TIC cc.xc,r cl~r~alo~r~; wxI.ed tcyettut- to establlstl cutreach in the summer and year- rc~lllcl cchulls. R-oths were- rcln ccrrrw-atlvely at Festival at tlx? Lake and at tlw Strut fest in hqust.

T~I II-IA 1 or AC I i IS’i t J e5 received many hxrs of planninq time tul L*re not acccm(~ll1r-wd. llr klcl:--off Carab,an and Census Day at tt-e 13’s did not take place.

5

ATTACHMENT J-11

III. KFKIffi fEl-A-rIcNsiIA WITH cm-El3 mu.P!3

City (3memmnt

The area. Working Relatimships with Other Grmps” cannot be fully explored by this writer tecauce she 1s the third pt-sm to assume duties of the Native &rerican coordinator and therefore, was not present for the duratim of the proJect. I kzwever , noted are the initial, documented difficulties experienced

in starting the project. The late start. late contracts and lack of cmnicatim bet- ttle Coordinators and the representative frmn the Mayor’s office was unfortunate.

The Ci tv Cc~~il, Inever. reccqnined the need to allocate funds for the census effort and alto resmded to the requests for extensims of cmtracts. when it became evident that melt-e time was needed to fulfull objectives of the Wtreach project. The City Ccuncil also responded to the cmcerns of the Gvnplete Gunt CcrmG ttee and passed a recolutim requesting changes in the methcds of the Post EnunPratic*> Survey; narrely that the sample size be enlarged and that oversampling be conducted In order to reach Asians, Pacific Islanders and &nerlcan Indians.

71~ City Nanager’s off ice, in the secmd phase of the census effort, assumed the ,e~-~nc~blli tv 01 rerking ~11th tte Coordinators and Complete Ca.nt Emittee. Tllic- off ice LGS atlle to neet rdith tls cmrdinators In June to help clarify goals and at allotlPr trreting , updated the cccrrdinators m tk census project In Oak 1 end. Representatives frcvn the City Manager 5 off ice were present at Ccmplete Count l‘c~mittee meetings to facilitate the count praess.

Che meeting rdas recorded with the City Planning department.

kisus Rlreau

Local involvrrent, late in the cen5~s process. WIS largely through cmtacts with Cl IF Oab. land Dlstr-IC t I?anager . Tt-e Uistrlct Ibnager attended Ccunt ComnLttee

mletlngr arid was a,/ailable to coordinators. 1 he Manager al33 cmduc ted training f@t- 1)e “14ere ‘/a~ Ccunted” project.

Tk rmlmal director appeared at com\ittw meetlnqs to cmduct lnformatlmal JVC_.C;IC~S cn tl-p F-t Enumeratlc.n Srvey and Local Revi-*.

11 P New Clak I ant1 ~cmni I tee was asked b\ the Hayor to functim as tte Ccvnplete Stunt Corrmlttce and a member of this organlz.jtim was chose0 as cl~air. Tte t’krerrcart irwl~an c.oordlnators attmded meetlnq 5 of the Ccrrunl t.tee awl pxt ~clpat.ed in cr-rwnl t tee actlt.ns.

6

ATTACHMENT J-12

Tlere was 110 cmittee formally labeled as an oversight ccw-mittee for the Native American cericus effort. I kwever , the Pay Area Anerican Indian Representatives (fXU$IR) were involved in census cmcerns several years before the Oakland program ~rlas started. Thi; is discussed in the part I, Executive !3umnary of this report.

The role of Che site where the Nitreach Coordinator was based is also dis&sed in the Executive Surrmar-y. 71~ site provided work space and access to off ice equi~~t such as teleplrne, bard processor, and copier. The &ret-ican Indian Cmrdinator worked under the persmnel procedures of the site. kbever, this irl n@ way hindered the worl: of the coordinator.

The American Indian organi:atims had, as a grasp. been wil linq to assist the census effort from tt7e heginning. The success of the [XItreach effort was mly I.?zsitrle tlirclcgh the interest and activities of these qrcups. The f%nerican Indian ccord~nator was given tlrne at Bay firea American Indian Agency meetings to presm t CEllSUS informatim. The orqanizatims offered assistance In dlsseminatinq informatim and staff from varicus organizatlms answered questims t qat-ding tl3e census. lhe oraanizatims that actively assisted in ohtaininq a crxnl cIf American Indians in Oakland were:

a. Iniertrlbal Friendship Hcuse b. Lb-ban Indian Health Center c . Chited Indian Flatimc. Inc. Il. lkntll huu ka Cllild Development Center e. Clffice of Indian Educatim, Clakland Pctbllc Schools f . rlative &rerican Fllcoholism Program

c?. lkhan Indian Chl Id Rescut-ce Center I?. ‘rcrlth Empermot Prcqram

TI-e I~CWUIUI~~ ty Histclry ProJec t. based at Intertribal FrIendshIp HociE-e. providti ~~.~luable assistance tcl the cccrdinators. Their archives furn1sM lnformatlm CII ccrm-n~-~~ty activltles tl\at made it easier to plan cutreach activities. Thr~lgh lte Prr?)t-et’s materials, ratimale for ccwuiity att.i tucks and prac tlces rqar~jlrq ttp census cmlld te obtained XI that efforts wculd be effective in the tarqf:t ccmfuni ty.

?)*I- I4ort.hern California L*velo~t Ccuncil also assisted the Census ef for-t trc’ause (lItreach work had begun under services frcwl this grant. For example, tt-e I‘larch 2EU.h ccwmlni t\, m,c-tlng was funded through this project.

ATTACHMENT J-13

&nericsn Indians have tlistorically bem undercanted and will cmtinue to be. They were not qalnted at al 1 in the first six c~x~ses. In 1660, mJy reservat lcn Ifldlans with al Jntrnmts were cclcnted. Not until 1940 were Mrican Indians Included In the total cmsus cmmt for appcrrtimmmt ~nrposes. Al 1 these facts ar15e frcvn the emial relatimship that American Indians have with the 011 ted States government . These facts are incJuded here to offer II Juminatim as to the basis of cmdercrxtnt in the present. The informatim is derived fran “as Simple as Che. Two. Three: C~OCLIS I-hderemMeratim mg the LLnerican Indians and Alaska Natives”. a wet-Izing ppr prepared by Carol LuJan in Play 1990. It stnlld te Iread for ttr?ce ruhCI have further interest in this pioblem.

This brief stating of facts iilustrates that Mrican Indians have come but lately into the census process. It is not a &iaJly ingrained custom to attempt to respmd to the censc~s. Rlt going further, it can be sem that there are 5ure real and present factors that w1 J J rtust likely lead to an underccwnt of &nerican Ii,dians in OakJand. The placing of a Native &nerican Cktreach Cclclrdinator was a good step tcwards alleviating the problem of an underccunt.

Perhaps the mt valuable function of the Ocltreach C.mrdinator is to attempt to al lay tlr Fucplcim and resistance that f%nerlcan lndlans may have ta*,ards the f eclera I aover nmen t and the censc~s . .Thralghout history, policies by the federal governmkt dlrtzc ted towards American lndians have not been favorable and had been clcv1sed tidllh no InpIt from the Indian pe+zpJe themselves. Policies such as the ncrw3iforcemmt of treaties. acts such as the Jndian Removal k-t or the Dare Several ty clr: t led to a subsequmt Jack of trtlst m the part of Indian people and cer-talnly would preclude a rrhoJe-hearted voluntary respmse to return of Cm5415 forms.

0 cecrrrd factor leadlng to underccrlnting cmcerns issue of identificatlm. 1 ndi ‘~‘1 01 (a L c. may self-idmtlfy as American Irrdlans but there are several ways &rerican Jndlans may do so and may think this self-idmtificatim is based c~pcm (1) L7elr-g lIsted m tribal rolls. (2) being Jlsted arld residing m lndlan rererx,at1crjs or in Indian ccmnclnities, (3) participating in Indian scrriety and ident1fylnq ll~~~selvc~ as Jndian or. (4) being or not being in a mixed marriage or I.~lng .qn adoptEd child. In addi tlm, enceptims arise to idmtificatim in an< of tksE1 categories. For example. some tribes require a certain degree of Il\diarl I?lmf tn 1-e mrol led in that tribe and this quantum vat-les from trituz to lr1t-F. CAlso. n~~;rlbv tribes are nvt federally recognized so altl-=lgh an individual may per~r~a J 1 ‘, Ir!ecitify as be3ng a mezmber of tribe, that persm may think it 1s of no use to bat-1 te ttlat tribal name m the census form, if the tribe dotes not tw,e f&w-aI r Ecogni tim. In short, the issue of ldmtificatim can be c:mfclsillg to Anerlcan Indians themseJves.

a .\ i

ATTACHMENT J-14

Indian pcyxllatim and those that are received ‘MY not be returned.

c\l thalgh mple that share a ccwnm culture of ten tend to “cluster” in their residence patterns, American Indians are general ly dispersed thralqhout the urban area.

The methods LISA hy the Cmsus &treat.1 are not adequate for canting powlatims that have unique resldmce patterns and a cc11 turally and ecmmlcally motivated mobility rate. The existing Census rnethzds r.culd seem to work best with people wlx~ live in cmtiquats blocks and who live there for lmq lengths of time.

Nhen census forms have not been returned, it is the task of the mufnerator to go dmi to dmr to taint lndlvjduals. As a last resort, mumerators may attwt to qaln lnformatim abcut a hawzhold by asklnq questions of others who live near by. American Indians are easily mistaken bv evm close neiqhhors to belmq to other ettnic qralps, such as “Spanish”. Hawaiian, Filipino or Caucaslm. Ttus. reliance m nelqhbor identification by mumerators is risky. The urban areas have a shifting pputlatim, that is of tm insular. Neiqhbors cannot be relied upco to offer reliable informatim.

Ti-e Cmsus PureaLl reccqniies that a pzrssibility for underccuntinq exists and tlerefore develop& the Post Enctmer-atim Srvey (PES), Hcwever, the nethcdoloqy rlf tt-e -5 seems tn create a n-9 certainty that CLnerican Indians will not. be accurately ccx4nt4. I3ecause of the aforementimed residential patterns and the relatively cmall size of the populatim. &nerlcan Indians will not te represmted 118 tie cuk3l 1 satnple ciie of lSO,OW.

11~2 atrrve seve3, reasms are major me5 In suopinq that tbre bJ111 be an clrndet-ccxslt of iLrerican Indians in this urban area.

‘Ld

. . i 9

ATTACHMENT J-15

Pecause manv leaders In the A-rw-lcan Indian ccnwunlty klieve there has ken an undercoun t , a trmf ldmtlal survey, cmducted by &neilcan Indian comnunlty persms, ckuld ‘be imnediatelv wdertakm to deterrnlne the extent of an underccrtn t . :: t t i tctdes and l:ncwledqe of It* census @t-mess rwxld also L;e asc;esced . I> third lnlpxtant factor In the CW~~CIE tl-rat needs to k fleaswed 1s the ~rnpact the ethic ccwrdinatot-s UFW Imve had m the ppirice. 6% of new, tkre 1s IKI measure of tnr tile cccw-dinators tlave affected the ccclnts. *gain. 1 t 15 believed tl-e Pcrct Encwmzratim !Srvey, 6s it 15 currmtlv desjgned. wlI1 I.* of little \.dlcte 3n oeterrnining counts of small cqxllatims such as Anerlcan !ridlans.

Secmdly. Alile the cencc~s eq3erience is f rech. there ctrrrld be a fOnTa

;issesmt of t he Oak 1 and p-Cress, This assecsment skxld be ccvnpleted bv all t tvcrce dlrec:tlv recpcnclhle f0r impl-tlnq the cccllit Itself. ltus lricludee enwneratorc. etl-nlc cmrd>nat@rs and ccwwnitv leaders.

istra tor St11 f ted

ATTACHMENT J-16

a detailed workplan that h’ear XX0 coordinators’wi-11 have in hand to hzgin their &rot-k. 4-e 1t 15. tile coordinator-c lud to plan m a dav t.@ dav tit- week to week bdsls dncJ L.lere in a pa5ltiLn Ot reacting t0 eW?nfs. rather than follcwlng a plan.

The ret cwnmdatims of researchers shcul‘d be taken Into cmslderatim as far as 11-e cfncus fur-m r&-ding of questim number 4. r-yarding race. Fcvne 1 anguage r ewordings Include addinq tie tards. ” lanquaqe grcsws” , “bands” or “ccwwnltles” . Iltber r-eccrwlendatlmc 111~ lc~rie dlsreaardlng lwaa of ~rncelald deslonatim ano clarl fving marklng optjcrls ior Indians from Canada. P!exlco or Cmtral and South iherlca.

rmclder-at 1rn ctrrlid t=? cjl\.en to the unique rwldence patterns of Gmerlcan indlans al>d encwerators ctmlld Lre cpecif ical I\ trarned to be secxlti\e 111 idecltifving Wrican Indlan populatims. Ideally. enumerators who are Anerlcan Indian tuzuld L-z give0 the cole task of finding American Indians in the urban areas.

In tl7ls 5ame bein. m a natlcwlal scale, American Indians chculd told positions t4lttilfI tlrd tmsus i%reacl ltcelf at all levels. It 1s apparent. for example. that t.lte IIFFUS of &nerlcan Irldlans r-r-e not provided for in the @lanning of the Post Enr~rwr~t~cr> 5hrlev co tkat ccncerns came to light mlv after the rnachinsry for 1 VE !%I,- \. r-, rras 111 plxe and cculd not be changed. To go further, the Census E~.W~FIII Llax!ld tw.e ;I” of 11ce or cectim reserved f@r the Cmlnting of *erican lr-lcllalI~ CIlI\, .

11

ATTACHMENT K

Paul N. Schultz ,Judith \Vellington ihecutive Director Assistant Director

3124 East 14th Street Oakland. CL\ !MiOl 1415) 261-5662

February 12. 1989

G e WOUld like to announce and invite you to our monthly ,dorsnip group tnis Sunday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall of Faith American Lutheran Church. The church is located at 4335 Virginia St. just off of High St. in Oakland.

'We would also i ike t 0 invite anyone interested in helping out irith the leaaership of the LO:30 a.m. service on the second Sunday ci the ncnth to iet 1~s know. wouro you oe uiliing to !ead congregational singing, say a prayer, hand out hymnals, oe our speaker for the morning, or be part of a singing group? We welcome your participation!

:lext month on Saturday, March 3rd. the Native American Alcoholism Program will be sponsoring their 5th annual "Running is My High" at Lake Merritt in Oakland. This is a chance for all you runners and walkers to put on your favorite pair of running/walking shoes and join us for good, neal thy fun. i f YOU’ re more ci a spectator than an athlete,

come anyway an0 Se cart 2f the cieer lng section. !t’s a

great way :o spend a Saturday morning. ‘!?egistration begins at 8:00 a.m.

The 1990 census is coming up beginning April 1, 1990 and we would encourage every household or individual to be counted. Please take the time to fill out the questionnaires that you may receive by mail. If you are unsure about how to complete the forms or if you,do not receive one, you can find

assistance by contacting any of our American Indian Agencies or health clinics. American Indians have a right to be counted. Let's answer the census.

CENSUS ‘go Yours In Partnership,

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Judy Wellington

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% 9% A Lutheran and Presbyterian Partnership Ministry

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